Learn from Kpokpogiri’s ordeal.
by Stanley Alieke, Esq.

You must have heard of Prince Kpokpogir’s ordeal in the hands of the Federal Capital Territory Authority (FCTA). Well for those that are out of the loop, let me bring you up to speed. His house which was just built a year ago in the Guzape area of Abuja was demolished by the FCTA. The house was said to have been worth over N700m.

According to the officials of the FCTA, the house was demolished because it was erected on government committed land.

A Committed land is a land that has been set aside or reserved by the government for special or specific purposes or uses. It may be reserved by the government to be used to build something like parks, airports, roads, schools, markets, government offices, cemeteries, etc in the future or later days and therefore has no development or redevelopment potential at the time being.

In Kpokpgiri’s case, according to the authorities of the FCTA, the place he erected his building has been marked out by the government to be used in building a highway, I.e the land he erected his house has been committed for road construction.

An official of the FCTA was quoted to have said, “His (Kpokpogiri’s) house is on a superhighway known as M-16. He doesn’t even have a building plan approval. It’s like somebody who knows that the highway is coming sold the land to him and he just went to build. We have been asking him to stop but he refused.”

This incident should raise concern for everyone; both for those who own landed properties or wish to own landed property in the future, especially those who don’t engage the service of a lawyer while purchasing their properties. In transactions like this, you need the services of a lawyer to carry out the due diligence search to ensure you are not purchasing a committed property.

If you make the mistake of buying land that has been reserved by the government or in a committal area, the repercussion is that the government has the power and every legal right to repossess the land anytime and it does not matter whether you have erected a structure or built a world-class home there.

The government can demolish whatever structure found there in their quest for repossessing what belongs to them and you have no case in court, especially the court of common law.

Always engage the services of a lawyer. A lawyer who is an expert in this area will conduct a survey plan search at the appropriate land registry, this is where he will confirm if the land is free or committed and also uncover other encumbrances on the property if there are any.

If you think you can do it yourself and do not require the services of a lawyer, you may regret it later.

Stanley Alieke is a lawyer based in Abuja.
infoitooknow@gmail.com