Nigeria cleans up land ownership

By Jamillah Tangaza
BBC, Abuja

Land in Abuja is valuable with some plots worth more than $1m

Title deeds to more than 200,000 plots of land in Nigeria's capital Abuja are likely to be withdrawn.

Nigeria's Federal Capital Territory Minister Malam Nasir El-Rufai cited fraud and widespread racketeering as the reasons behind the clean-up.

Most of the land in Abuja is owned by top officials and the move is likely to make political waves.

It will affect land allocated since 1976, and owners will have to prove they acquired the land legally.

Jitters

In effect, all the certificates of occupancy that have been issued by past administrations are nullified, a move approved by President Olusegun Obasanjo.

However, it is not all gloom for landowners, says the government.

All those who are found to have possessed land in the capital through lawful means will be given back what is rightfully theirs.

Abuja is Nigeria's most modern city

To qualify for a new certificate, a holder must satisfy certain conditions which include evidence of legal application and the payment of all outstanding bills to the agencies responsible for the upkeep of the city.

The announcement by the government has already given some of Abuja's landowners the jitters.

One landowner told me he acquired his land through an official of the Federal Capital Development Agency, which is the body responsible for the allocation of land in Abuja.

He admitted that his personal relationship with a top official had afforded him the privilege of owning a plot in Nigeria's ultra modern and expensive city.

A piece of land in a sought-after area of Abuja can fetch more than $1m.

Collision course

Most of the land in the city is owned by well-placed Nigerians, mostly people who have held or currently hold top government positions. These include ex-military officers and civilians.

Some say the move to confiscate land by the president and his minister is likely to set them both on a collision course with some of the most influential people in the country.

Mr Obasanjo and Mr El-Rufai are not new to taking or adopting what some consider as daring measures, particularly on issues which tend to conflict with the interests of some powerful people.

But the question some are asking in Nigeria is which big-wigs will be affected by the government's directive, and to what extent such a move is likely to damage the political support Mr Obasanjo enjoys from some of Nigeria's power brokers.