Ahead of the expiration of the 14-day ultimatum issued to ground rent debtors by the Federal Capital Territory Administration, landowners have continued to throng the office of the Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS) to save their property from takeover.

Among the top government entities owing large sums are the Nigerian Navy, the Department of Petroleum Resources, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, the Federal High Court, and the Federal Inland Revenue Service, all at risk of having their property repossessed.

State governments and their liaison offices in the capital — including Lagos, Kwara, Jigawa, Benue, Ondo, Adamawa, Osun, and Enugu — are equally listed as defaulters, as well as 34 foreign embassies.

The Department of Land Administration of the FCT in a publication on June 2, 2025, urged defaulters to fulfill their “obligations to the FCTA as stipulated in the covenanted terms and conditions of the Rights of Occupancy/Certificates of Occupancy”.

They added that the defaulters would have their land titles withdrawn and their land revoked if they failed to make the payments.

The publication had carried the names and title numbers of 3,383 defaulters owing ground rents between 10 and 43 years, down from the 4,794 defaulters whose land titles were revoked on March 13, 2025 and over 9,000 names published by the administration between September and October 2024.

When our correspondent visited the AGIS on Friday, security men had secured the entrance,  preventing Sunday PUNCH’s interactions with debtors attempting to make payments, despite identifying himself as a member of the press.

No fewer than 100 defaulters were seen by our correspondent on a scattered queue at the AGIS office.

Sunday PUNCH gathered that there had been a “record-high” compliance following the notice by the administration.

“The compliance has been very high. You remember the task force sealed some offices and the President gave a 14-day ultimatum with penalties. Before that one expired, there was another publication with another 14-days grace period. So, there has been a rush to pay. It is a record-high compliance if you ask me,” a source in the AGIS office who declined to be named told Sunday PUNCH.

“People have started coming now, seriously. Even as of today. Do you see the circular? Some people are not owing much, but they have to come and pay the penalty,” a security officer at the gate told our correspondent.

Spokesperson for the FCT Minister, Lere Olayinka, said the 14-day ultimatum started on June 2.

He said, “We published the notice on June 2nd that they were given two weeks’ notice. Whatever decision that the government takes thereafter will be made public.”

A check by Sunday PUNCH showed that the notice would expire by the end of Monday, June 16, 2025.

Army, police, NIA risk property seizure

Meanwhile, some of the country’s leading security agencies, including the Nigerian Army, the Nigeria Police Force, and the National Intelligence Agency, were listed among over 3,000 titleholders owing ground rents to the FCTA.

The total ground rent debt owed by the three major security institutions amounted to N1,088,296,148.

According to a list of defaulters recently released by the FCTA, the Nigerian Army, which has landed property in Asokoro, is listed as debtor number 1,543, with an outstanding rent of approximately N50m.

Another Army-related property — the Special Vehicle Plant under the Nigerian Army Welfare Scheme, also in Asokoro — owes over N1bn and is listed as number 1,542.

The Nigeria Police Force is indebted to the tune of N37,658,484 for a property with title number MISC 129132, appearing at number 1,540 on the list.

The National Intelligence Agency also appears twice on the list. One of its lands in Asokoro owesN95,696, while another is in default of N541,968. The NIA is listed as number 1,925.

With a fresh ultimatum due to expire on Monday, June 16, the FCTA may resume enforcement actions, including sealing property and initiating revocation procedures.

Efforts to get official reactions from the concerned institutions were largely unsuccessful.

Calls and messages to the spokesperson of the Nigerian Army, Lt. Col. Onyema Anele, were not returned.

The police spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi, read a message sent to him but had not responded as of the time of filing this report.

The NIA, which does not have a known public affairs office, could not be reached.

Responding to the debt allegations, a senior Army official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, insisted that the Nigerian Army had fulfilled its obligations.

The official said, “In response to the ground rent issue, it is very important to state that the NA has paid its ground rent up to December 2024 for Plot 2302 Cadastral Zone A04 Asokoro to the FCDA. The payment receipts are readily available at Nigerian Army Properties Limited. It was after the payment that the Nigerian Army applied to the Honourable Minister FCT for the subdivision of Plot 2302 into the Army Barracks and the Army Command Estate Asokoro. After the minister’s approval, the property was subdivided into Plot 13974 in favour of the Nigerian Army Properties Ltd and Plot 13975 in favour of Nigerian Army (Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“Please note that without the payment of the ground rent by the Nigerian Army, the approval wouldn’t have been possible. The NAPL is currently awaiting for the receipt of the Right of Occupancy from the FCDA in respect of each of the plots so that the appropriate bills for each of the properties will be paid to facilitate issuance of the respective C of Os. “

The senior official said since the commencement of the year there was no official communication to the Army, adding that it would be unfair for the FCTA to seal the service’s property.

“In summary, throughout the Year 2025, there was no communication between the FCDA and the NA or NAPL concerning ground rent.

“Therefore, it would be unfair for the FCDA to blacklist the NA concerning payment of ground rent. Please thank you very much for this opportunity, “ the source stated.

With just a day to go on the fresh ultimatum, pressure is mounting on all listed institutions and individuals to settle their debts or risk losing their properties to government sanctions.