Court seizes ₦5.28bn Jonathan-era Abuja housing lands over alleged $65m fraud

The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the permanent forfeiture of Abuja lands valued at ₦5.28 billion, originally allocated for the Goodluck Jonathan Legacy Model Housing Estate, to the federal government.

Justice Mohammed Umar granted the motion filed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

The application was not opposed by Hassan Liman, SAN, the defence counsel.

The judge directed the ICPC to oversee the completion of 962 housing units on the lands in collaboration with the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), the sole respondent in the case, and to ensure the units are allocated to beneficiaries.

The court ordered the forfeiture of Plot No. 5, Cadastral Zone D12, Kaba District, Abuja, measuring 122,015.80 square metres and valued at ₦1.944 billion, and Plot No. 4 in the same zone, measuring 157,198.30 square metres and valued at ₦3.34 billion, citing suspicions that the lands were proceeds of unlawful activity.

Justice Umar also directed the ICPC to hand over the properties to the FMBN and set up a joint committee with the bank to manage the project’s completion.

In a ruling delivered on December 11 and made available to journalists on Tuesday, Justice Umar instructed the ICPC and FMBN to form a committee composed of members from both agencies to oversee the completion of the project.

The court had earlier granted interim forfeiture of the lands on July 9, pending the hearing of the substantive suit (FHC/ABJ/CS/1124/2025).

The ICPC said the lands, allocated by the Federal Capital Territory Administration for the construction of 962 residential units under the National Housing Fund scheme, were allegedly diverted.

An affidavit by ICPC officer Iliya Marcus showed that FMBN engaged Good Earth Power Nigeria Limited to execute the project after securing a $65 million loan from Ecobank with an 18-month completion timeline.

Investigations found that the bank paid an initial drawdown of ₦3.785 billion in November 2012 and later released the full project sum, even though the developer was not registered with the Real Estate Developers Association, a required condition.

No housing units were built on the site, and the developer reportedly attempted to sell the land to members of the public.

Osuobeni Akponimisingha, Counsel for the ICPC told the court that while the developer is facing trial in another matter, the forfeiture request was intended to secure the lands for the Federal Government and Nigerians.

Justice Umar questioned why the full project funds were released upfront without evidence of progress and adjourned the matter until October 27 for a compliance report.