Court gavel
A High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja, has directed the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to issue a Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) to Al-Kafawi Venture Limited in connection with a long-standing land dispute.
Justice Sylvanus Oriji handed down the ruling on Thursday while delivering judgment in suit number FCT/HC/CV/963/2005. The case was filed by Al-Kafawi Venture Limited and Keeline Investment Limited.
The respondents in the case include persons unknown, Associated Properties and Trust Plc, the FCT Minister, FCDA, Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA), Larix Company Limited, and Maizube Holdings Limited.
The dispute centered on Plots 174 and 177—collectively identified as Plot No. 1158—in Cadastral Zone B05, Utako District. According to court records, Al-Kafawi Venture had been in possession of the plots until 2007, when construction work on the site was halted and structures were demolished by agents allegedly acting on behalf of the defendants.
Justice Oriji ruled in favor of the claimants, stating that they had convincingly established their case, while the defendants failed to meet the burden of proof once it shifted to them.
“In other words, judgment is entered for the claimants and the court hereby grants the following reliefs,” the judge said.
He declared that “the first claimant is entitled to the grant of statutory right of occupancy and, therefore, entitled to the possession of plots numbers 174, 177 and 1158, Cadastral Zone B05, Utako.”
The court further held that “any re-allotment or sale by the third and fourth defendants to the second, fifth, and sixth defendants or any other person is void in law.”
In addition, the judge issued a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants and their representatives from “trespassing, interfering or doing anything whatsoever,” including relocation or further dealings on the land.
The court then ordered the FCT Minister and the FCDA to formally issue the Certificate of Occupancy to Al-Kafawi Venture Limited upon payment of the required statutory fees.
This verdict effectively ends a legal tussle that spanned nearly two decades, restoring full legal ownership of the disputed plots to the original claimant.
