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From Okwe Obi, Abuja
Hongye International Nigeria Limited, a lessee of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), has appealed to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, to intervene in the alleged takeover of its disputed property at Kado Estate, Abuja, despite a pending court case over the land.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Sunday, the company’s lawyer, Matthew Onoja, said the dispute followed what he described as the purported allocation of the same property to another party despite his client’s existing lease from the FCTA and continued possession of the property.
Onoja said the circumstances surrounding the purported allocation were unusual and prompted his client to petition the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Olatunji Disu, to investigate how the property could have been allocated to another party.
He said his client was invited by the police, adopted the petition and provided documents and other evidence relating to the property.
According to him, the police indicated that the other party would also be contacted to present its documents.
However, Onoja alleged that while the police probe was ongoing, an attempt was made to take over the property. He said the legal team informed the police and also wrote to the Development Control Unit of the FCTA, notifying the authority that there was a land dispute and a pending court case involving the property.
According to him, relevant parties had been joined in the suit, while the sole director and shareholder of the other company involved in the dispute had also been joined in the case.
He said hearing notices had been issued to the parties. The lawyer alleged that despite the pending case and notifications to the relevant authorities, men arrived at the property in Kado Estate with equipment and bulldozers and began destroying parts of the premises.
He said the perimeter fence was pulled down, trees were felled and his client’s installations were destroyed.
Onoja said he went to the property after being informed that the operation had resumed and met the same people returning to continue the takeover.
“They came in marked pickup trucks and other men. I asked them if they knew there was a dispute and a pending court case and whether they had seen the notice on the perimeter fence,” he said.
He said when he demanded to know the authority under which they were taking possession of the property, no document authorising the action was shown to him.
According to him, those at the site told him he had no right to question them and directed him to “go to court.”
He argued that even where ownership or occupation of a property is disputed, the affected party should not be dispossessed without due process, stressing that his client was a lawful occupant.
“We cannot be in court and then have any authority or individual who is already joined in the suit go behind the court to encroach upon or prejudice the interests of another party in the same matter that is pending before the court. It means there is no regard for the rule of law and shows contempt for the jurisdiction of the Honourable Court,” he said.
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“My demand is not merely a personal demand. It is the demand of every right-thinking Nigerian that due process be followed. Let the parties maintain the status quo, with my client remaining in possession, until the rights of the parties in court, which have already been submitted for determination, are decided one way or the other,” Onoja said.
He disclosed that the matter is scheduled for hearing in October 2026 and urged the FCT Minister and the IGP to intervene to ensure that the parties maintain the status quo pending the court’s determination.
Onoja said his client remained committed to resolving the dispute through lawful means and would abide by the eventual decision of the court.
Also speaking, Executive Director of the Grassroots Centre for Rights and Civic Orientation, Armsfree Ajanaku, said the organisation’s interest in the matter went beyond the private dispute to concerns over the protection of Abuja’s green spaces.
Ajanaku said the group’s primary concern was adherence to the rule of law, but added that the location in Kado Estate was also understood to be a green area designated under Abuja’s master plan.
He expressed concern over the increasing conversion of green spaces in the nation’s capital to housing, shopping malls and other developments.
“For us, this is not just about private interest; it is also about public interest. We cannot fold our arms and watch what is supposed to be the only city in Nigeria where we say we should not have a concrete jungle lose all its green spaces to development,” he said.
Ajanaku linked the issue to wider environmental concerns in the FCT, including flooding, saying he had lived in Abuja since 2012 and had not witnessed flooding at the level experienced this year.
“We cannot watch the environment, which is a collective heritage, being destroyed. It is not anybody’s personal estate. The environment belongs to all of us collectively as citizens,” he said.
He called for developments encroaching on designated green areas to be halted and for such spaces to be restored to their intended purposes.
Ajanaku said green spaces were important to the environment, health and wellbeing of residents, arguing that Abuja should not repeat the pattern of uncontrolled development associated with other major cities.
He also expressed concern over the presence of several people at the property during the operation, alleging that some appeared to be armed.
According to him, police officers in uniform were also seen at the site, although he said they did not identify themselves.
Ajanaku further alleged that streetlights outside the property, which he said were provided with public funds, were among infrastructure affected during the operation.
He urged the authorities to ensure that the dispute was handled in accordance with due process while protecting Abuja’s designated green spaces.
