A senior aide to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Olarere Olayinka, has denied allegations of land grabbing by the FCT Administration. He challenged those making the accusations to provide evidence of land ownership.

The controversy arose after Paullosa Nigeria Limited, a construction company, claimed the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) issued a demolition notice for its estate in Lifecamp, Abuja. The company alleged that after paying ₦10 million for a Right of Occupancy, they had not received the official documents before the quit notice.

Adding fuel to the controversy, social media activist Vincent Martins Otse, also known as VeryDarkMan, alleged that the land titles were revoked and reallocated to Saravera Nigeria Limited and Kingsley Chinda, a member of the House of Representatives. He called on security agencies to intervene, stating that the land’s original owner was a former Nigerian Army cadet.

Responding to these claims, Olayinka clarified that the land in question was under a temporary Right of Occupancy granted to Paullosa Nigeria Limited in 1984. The company used the land for 36 years, constructing permanent buildings and renting them out without government approval.

In 2020, the company applied to convert the temporary Right of Occupancy into a statutory one. Although approval was granted in 2023, it came with conditions, including payments amounting to over ₦57 million. Olayinka explained that the company failed to meet these conditions for 20 months, leading to the revocation of the approval in October 2024.

Olayinka emphasized that the company never owned the land and urged critics to verify facts before making public allegations.

“My advice to social media activists is to investigate claims thoroughly. If they had done so, they wouldn’t be used to mislead the public,” he said.