Court Orders Final Forfeiture of Abuja Land Linked to Goodluck Jonathan Housing Project
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of two large parcels of land originally designated for the Goodluck Jonathan Legacy Model Housing Estate.
Justice Mohammed Umar decided on a motion brought before the court by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). The application, argued by ICPC counsel, Osuobeni Akponimisingha, was granted without opposition, as defence counsel, Hassan Liman (SAN), raised no objection.
In his judgment, Justice Umar directed the ICPC to oversee the completion of the proposed housing project on behalf of the Federal Government. He ordered that the development, which comprises 962 residential units, should be carried out in partnership with the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), the sole respondent in the matter, to ensure that the houses are eventually allocated to their intended beneficiaries.
The court ordered the final forfeiture of Plot No. 5, located in Cadastral Zone D12, Kaba District, Abuja, measuring about 122,015.80 square metres and valued at approximately N1.94 billion.
Also forfeited was Plot No. 4 in the same zone, covering roughly 157,198.30 square metres with an estimated value of N3.34 billion. The properties were adjudged to be suspected proceeds of unlawful activities.
Justice Umar further instructed the ICPC to facilitate the transfer of the forfeited assets to the FMBN, which the court identified as the victim in the alleged misconduct.
He also ordered both agencies to set up a joint committee to manage the completion and implementation of the housing estate.
The court recalled that it had earlier, on July 9, granted an interim forfeiture of the properties following an ex parte application filed by the ICPC, pending the determination of the substantive suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1124/2025.
Court documents revealed that the Federal Capital Territory Administration had originally allocated the lands free of charge for the construction of 962 housing units under the National Housing Fund Scheme through the FMBN. An affidavit sworn to by an ICPC officer, Iliya Marcus, disclosed that the commission acted on intelligence suggesting that the FMBN had contracted a private firm, Good Earth Power Nigeria Limited, to execute the project.
According to the affidavit, the project received approval on July 30, 2012, and was to be developed as the Goodluck Jonathan Legacy Model Housing Estate. The FMBN reportedly entered into a framework agreement with the developer and secured a $65 million loan from Ecobank to fund the project, which was aimed at providing affordable housing for low-income earners and was expected to be completed within 18 months.
