Officials of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), accompanied by police officers and other security personnel, have allegedly defied a subsisting court order by entering the upscale River Park Estate in Abuja and demolishing multi-million-naira structures within the estate.
Justice Mohammed Zubairu of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, sitting at Jikwoyi–Kurudu, had on September 17, 2025, issued an injunctive order restraining the FCDA and its agents from entering the estate or carrying out any action pending the hearing and determination of a suit challenging the authority’s actions.
The suit was filed by two property developers—Jonahcapital Nigeria Limited and Houses for Africa Nigeria Limited—against the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and the FCDA over a dispute concerning the ownership of River Park Estate, Lugbe, Abuja.
The court granted the order after hearing an ex parte motion moved by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Anthony Malik, on behalf of the plaintiffs. Justice Zubairu granted leave for a judicial review by way of certiorari to set aside the proceedings, report, and recommendations of a ministerial committee constituted by the FCT Minister to investigate issues surrounding the estate.
Despite the subsisting court order and the pendency of the suit, bulldozers operated by FCDA Development Control officials, escorted by security operatives, reportedly stormed the estate and demolished buildings down to their foundations.
Eyewitnesses expressed concern that police officers participated in the operation despite a standing directive by the Inspector General of Police prohibiting police involvement in land disputes, especially where court orders exist.
A resident of the estate, who identified himself as Mr Emmanuel, described the demolition as a continuation of previous actions allegedly based on a Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) report, which he said had further heightened tensions among residents.
According to residents, the demolition team had earlier, on Friday last week, been denied access to the Margaret Lawrence University Teaching Hospital Cancer Centre by security personnel and members of the community.
Speaking on the incident, Mrs Bisi Ukawugo, a resident of the estate and a council member of the Cancer Centre, said residents had resorted to legal action as advised.
“When all these started, we were advised to go to court, which we did. We obtained an order for judicial review of the ministerial committee’s report,” she said.
“We presented the court order and the letter issued by Justice Mohammed Zubairu on September 17, 2025. Unfortunately, around past 6pm today, FCDA officials arrived at our gate with bulldozers and various security personnel, insisting that we must open the gate to allow them carry out demolition inside the estate,” she added.
Also reacting, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Margaret Lawrence University, Professor Samuel Asala, expressed shock over the demolition of parts of the university’s teaching hospital.
“They entered through another gate after 6pm. This was clearly a follow-up to earlier demolitions, including parts of our teaching hospital,” he said.
“A teaching hospital is critical for training medical students. Destroying such infrastructure sets the institution and its students back significantly.”
The ownership dispute over River Park Estate has remained protracted. In June 2025, the Nigeria Police filed a 26-count charge against a Nigerian lawyer, Abu Arome, and three Ghanaian nationals—Sam Jonah, a Knight of the British Empire (KBE), Kojo Ansah, and Victor Quainoo—along with a private company, in connection with the matter.
The defendants were scheduled to be arraigned at the High Court of the FCT, Gwarimpa, in August 2025. However, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice subsequently ordered that the case file be transferred to his office.
