Minanuel estate ruling: ‘Wake up for developers’
Abuja by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) in September 2012 is gradually settling down after a High Court granted the right of occupancy to the estate developer but denied it compensation for the demolished houses. What does this imply for the real sector business? Justice Danalami Senchi who presided over the case said that […]
Abuja by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) in September 2012 is gradually settling down after a High Court granted the right of occupancy to the estate developer but denied it compensation for the demolished houses. What does this imply for the real sector business?
Justice Danalami Senchi who presided over the case said that the buildings and facilities put up in the estate were not approved by the FCTA hence the builders deserve no compensation. The said houses valued at N3.6 billion were pulled down by the Development Control department of FCTA over claims that the former lacked valid land allocation papers. They had attained 80 percent completion with hundreds of subscribers.
The development generated public outcry prompting the intervention of the National Assembly urging the FCTA to exercise restraints in further demolition of the estate. The media were awash with outright condemnation of the act.
Observers were of the views that the houses whether illegally developed should not have been pulled down because it was meant to shelter Nigerians and by extension reduce the huge housing deficit put at about 17 million.
They argued that the FCTA had shown great negligence of duty by allowing the estate to be built to near completion before realizing that the developers did not have relevant papers to build.
Professional bodies like Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN), an umbrella body of estate developers where Minanuel estate developer belongs condemned the demolition in clear terms, calling it a an affront and gross violation of the developer’s right. The developer accused FCTA of re-allocating the land to legislators.
Other professional bodies like the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIIESV) said FCTA’s action was bad considering the housing challenges facing residents of Abuja. NIESV wondered, “The government has not made conscious effort in improving lots of Nigerians in the area of housing in the last 10 years, a development that has made the city of Abuja one of the most expensive on the continent if not in the world. If private sector developers are intervening to breach the housing gap, one wonders why FCTA which primarily should encourage and support such initiative would turn round and sabotage same through reckless demolition without considering the import of the action on the low income earners. What is more puzzling is the fact that the low income earners pulled their resources together, went through necessary government agencies such as the National Housing Fund (NHF) to raise the funds for the houses. Why government waited this long before the demolition beats the imagination of the institution.”
At the peak of the crisis, the National Assembly waded in, calling on FCTA to refrain from further demolition of the estate until it was established that the developer violated the laws of the land. Senator Smart Adeyemi, Senate Committee Chairman on FCT was among the first senators to react, promising that victims of the demolition would be compensated if findings revealed that the FCT authorities erred.
Also, Chairman, Senate Committee on Lands Housing and Urban Development, Senator Bukar Abba Ibrahim said the demolition was uncalled for, considering that the country is facing housing deficit. “To me this demolition is crazy. In a country where people are grappling, fighting and crying for more houses, for somebody to demolish houses that are already built, to me it is crazy. Those who are charged with the responsibility to look after buildings in the FCT should not allow people to do foundation, put blocks, roofing and complete the building and then they come and demolished it. Why don’t you stop them?” he querried.
Senator Ibrahim observed that the justification always given by development control department of FCTA that it gives defaulters a “stop work” order which they ignore was weak argument, adding that authorities should not allow people to start work in the first instance and should use law enforcement agencies to halt development of perceived illegal structures.
Legal battle proceeds media war
After the media war that trailed the demolition, came a tough legal battle between the Minanuel estate developer and the FCTA. The developer and the subscribers filed the suit in September 2012 challenging the FCT Minister, Bala Muhammed and the FCDA seeking award of title and compensation. Counsel to the developer Chris Uche (SAN) argued that the demolition was carried out without respect to his clients’ rights of property. He argued that the subscribers were issued the right of occupancy in letters signed in 2000 by the zonal land manager for Kubwa Mr. Lugard Idigbe.
Defending the action of the FCTA, Joe Kyari Gadzama (SAN) said it is only the minister that has the legal powers to allocate land in Abuja and environs arguing that the developer was given due notice prior to the demolition exercise.
The judge agreeing with the submissions of FCT counsel ruled that Stop Work red markings on the walls of the buildings were indication that the buildings were unapproved. The judge therefore, refused to award the subscribers’ N5 billion compensation prayer for damages.
He said that the subscribers had violated section 30(1) of the Nigerian Urban and Regional Planning Act, having failed to produce building permit indicating the engineering design, drawings and environmental impact report.
Justice Senchi ruled that the developers had valid title for the land but held that the buildings and facilities in the estate did not have the requisite approval.
While refusing to award the N5 billion damages to the subscribers, the judge however restrained the FCDA from reallocating the plots to other(s), saying the right of the owners is still extant having not been revoked.
What is this judgment’s implication?
Daily Trust sought the opinions of the public. An engineer in the building sector, Mr Hashim Rilwan said the judgment is commendable and logical. According to him, the non approval of compensation to the estate developer is justifiable in the sense that the building plans were not rightly approved by the relevant authorities. He said returning the land to the developer is a compensation for what they lost in terms of physical structures.
Mrs Folarin Koleosho whose friend was a subscriber said compensation remains cardinal because most of the subscribers are low-income and middle-class FCT residents, who sweat day and night to raise money. She said the court by not granting compensation puts the subscribers in untold hardship and financial indebtedness.
For Engr Godwin Ogbonna, one of the subscribers of the demolished Minanuel estate in Lugbe 1 extension, Airport Road, Abuja, the pronouncement of the FCT High Court that they are the valid owners of the plots does not signify closure to the case. While others celebrated the ruling, he wants an appeal over the court’s refusal to award compensation.
For Johnson David, the court ruling will to a certain extent put both prospective developers and subscribers on their toes. They must seek adequate information on real estate investment in FCT. “There are a lot of frauds in the property sector especially in FCT. Land racketeering involving millions of naira is going on daily but many are unreported because individuals involved do not make noise about it. I think the Minanuel estate generates uproar because it involves a sizeable number of people as well as huge budget. But by and large, it is a wake up call for everybody to be wary of unapproved land and property dealings.’’
He called for the establishment of government agency that will be solely responsible for monitoring sale and buying of properties in FCT to prevent future recurrence.
Efforts to get the official reaction from the spokesperson of Minanuel estate, Mr Festus Adebayo were unsuccessful as he refused to pick his calls after his initial promise to speak.
In the midst of disappointment, there are useful lessons for subscribers on one hand and the FCDA officials on the other. One is that any development done the FCT without relevant approvals is illegal. Another is that statutory land allocations issued through FCT zonal land managers is presumed to have been given by the minister through delegated powers and therefore a valid title.