The firm, which wrote through some public spirited lawyers, described the over 400 BUA Estate housing units in Kado District as the most notorious example of urban development failure in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

A public law firm, Law Capitol, has called out the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) under the FCT minister, Nyesom Wike, over the prolonged abandonment of completed housing estates across Abuja. 

The firm, which wrote through some public spirited lawyers, described the over 400 BUA Estate housing units in Kado District as the most notorious example of urban development failure in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

In a petition addressed to Wike and the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, the firm said the estate has remained completely unoccupied and sealed off for more than a decade, despite the rising housing deficit and worsening living conditions for thousands of low-income residents, internally displaced persons, and civil servants in Abuja.

The petitioning lawyers are; Stan Alieke, O.M. Okpave, Chioma Nnnenna Iro, Kate Ntunde, Mazi David Ihuoma, and Odenigbo Celestine. 

"A particularly troubling example is the BUA Estate located in Kado District, Abuja, which comprises over 400 completed housing units and has remained entirely unoccupied since its completion over ten years ago. The estate remains fenced off, sealed, and unused, while low-income earners, displaced persons, and struggling civil servants continue to battle homelessness, overcrowding, and exploitative rent regimes across the FCT.”

“The continued existence of such ghost estates; strategically located on prime public land, undermines the social, legal, and moral objectives of urban development. They are not merely vacant buildings; they are symbolic of failed housing policies, institutional indifference, and unchecked speculation. 

“The estate remains fenced off, sealed, and unused, while low-income earners, displaced persons, and struggling civil servants continue to battle homelessness, overcrowding, and exploitative rent regimes across the FCT,” the firm said in its letter.

“They are not merely vacant buildings; they are symbolic of failed housing policies, institutional indifference, and unchecked speculation. It's is a gross injustice and frankly, a national embarrassment, that in a country facing a crushing housing deficit, fully built estates in the heart of the capital lie abandoned, priced far out of market realities, or deliberately hoarded for speculative gain.”

Law Capitol urged the FCTA to act under the powers of the Land Use Act and FCT Urban and Regional Planning Law by conducting an occupancy audit of all estates uninhabited for five years or more. 

It recommended mass housing conversion, public-interest acquisition, or resale under regulated pricing where no justification for the vacancy exists.

“The law is not only on your side, it expects you to act. Judicial precedent and statutory authority support the power of government to reclaim or repurpose underutilised or abandoned property in overriding public interest. 

“Furthermore, Nigerian courts have firmly recognised the doctrine of adverse possession, under which long-standing, open, and exclusive possession of property may mature into legal ownership especially where the true owner has abandoned the property or failed to assert title. In the leading authority of, Idu v. Okumagba (1991) 2NWLR (PT. 174) 509, the Supreme Court affirmed that possession maintained continuously for a statutory period, typically 10 to 12 years; can extinguish the original owner's title.

“If our laws allow private citizens to acquire title after long, uncontested use, surely the State is even more empowered to intervene where ownership is abused through prolonged neglect.”

The firm further warned that the abandoned estates are becoming security risks, as they are reportedly being used by criminals and untraceable occupants due to a lack of monitoring and official oversight.

It concluded by calling on the ministers to implement urgent reforms in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which promises to address the housing crisis and promote equitable urban development.

“It's is a gross injustice and frankly, a national embarrassment, that in a country facing a crushing housing deficit, fully built estates in the heart of the capital lie abandoned, priced far out of market realities, or deliberately hoarded for speculative gain.”

“The Federal Capital Territory must not become a playground for absentee billionaires while children sleep under bridges, civil servants crowd in slums, and internally displaced persons beg for land to rebuild their lives.

“We are therefore confident that under your leadership, the FCTA will rise to this challenge and restore Abuja's housing system to one that prioritizes human need over speculative profit. We remain available to support with legal frameworks, research, and policy implementation strategies as required.”