By Daniel Tyokua
The developer of Plot 67, Cadastral Zone C05, Kafe District, Winning Clause Nigeria Limited on Thursday, insisted that the demolished Kuchibedna community in Abuja Municipal Area Council of the FCT, has been fully compensated before the exercise.
This follows the outcry over the clearing of the area for commencement of a housing estate project that the land was allocated to the company in 2011.
Defending the demolition, counsel to the company, Marx Ikongbeh said the community had been compensated on three separate occasions but r refused to vacate the land despite four court judgements against the residents.
Ikongbeh gave the insight during the enforcement exercise carried out by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).
He explained that the company was allocated the land in 2011 under the Abuja Mass Housing Programme and met a small cluster of about 20 houses on arrival. The developer, he said, engaged the residents and paid compensation with an agreement that they would relocate.
“Compensation was paid not once, not twice, but three times 2011, 2015 and 2016,” he revealed. “despite these payments and multiple court judgments, the occupants refused to move.”
He noted that after the first compensation, the community took the matter to the FCT High Court, which in a 2016 judgment held that the natives had no further legal claim and declared them trespassers. Despite this ruling, the company continued discussions on humanitarian grounds as the settlement continued expanding largely due to natives selling parcels of land to non-natives.
Ikongbeh added that a fresh suit filed by the community after the second round of compensation was dismissed as an abuse of court process. The village chief, Mr. George Gozebo, originally the first plaintiff, had reportedly sold his own property and left, only to return later to build again on the estate land.
With continued resistance from the community, the company sought enforcement once more. In 2021, the FCT High Court reaffirmed the company’s ownership and directed the FCT Minister to take possession and hand over the land. The villagers appealed.
According to the counsel, the Court of Appeal’s February 2025 judgment finally settled the matter, upholding the company’s ownership and directing the community to vacate while mandating the FCT Minister to ensure vacant possession.
He stressed that the ongoing removal exercise is backed by four separate court judgments three from the High Court and one from the Court of Appeal all declaring the settlement illegal.
Ikongbeh also disclosed that beyond the earlier payments, the community requested money for traditional rites to “relocate their ancestors,” which the company also paid in 2016 under an agreement mediated and documented by the Sa’peyi of Garki.
“Despite all these payments, they refused to leave and instead expanded, selling land illegally to non-natives who built without any approval,” Ikongbeh said.
He further noted that the settlement had extended into the alignment of Ring Road 3, occupying land outside the original village boundary.
