Ground Rent: Investors sue Wike over revocation of plots at Abuja Free Trade Zone

By Eniola Akande

ABUJA: Investors under the aegis of Abuja Technology Village Free Trade Zone, have dragged the Federal Capital Territory FCT minister, Nyesom Wike, before the Federal High Court in Abuja, challenging the legality of the administrative decisions he took in relation to activities at the Abuja Free Trade Zone.

They claimed that the decision culminated in the minister’s revocation of land earmarked for the operations and development of the Abuja Technology Village within the Free Trade Zone.

The group, comprising of foreign and indigenous investors, in a suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/1539/2025, is seeking the court’s intervention to quash the purported revocation of an area of land designated by Presidential Order, also gazetted as a Free Trade Zone, a presidential order now being set aside by the Federal Capital Territory Administration FCTA.

According to them, the revocation, communicated via a letter dated 13th May 2025, was issued on grounds of alleged non-payment of ground rent and underdevelopment.

“This revocation emanated without any prior notice, warning and/or demand for compliance. Be that as it may, the grounds for revocation contravene section 8 of the NEPZA Act which explicitly exempts the Plaintiffs and the Abuja Technology Village Free Zone Company from such levies, taxes and rates”, they explained.

In the suit filed on their behalf by M.J Numa & Partners LLP at the Federal High Court, the group urged the court to declare that “by virtue of the combined provisions of Sections 5(1)(a) and (b), 3(a) and (b), 147, 148(1), 297 and 299(a) and (b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the executive authority of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, including the powers exercised through the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority pursuant to Federal Legislation is supreme and cannot be lawfully impaired, diluted, or contradicted by the exercise of executive powers conferred on the Minister of the FCT, acting under Section 5(2) of the Constitution, as administrator of the Federal Capital Territory.

“That by virtue of Sections 1, 4, 7, 8 and 13 of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Act, Cap N107 LFN 2004 (NEPZA Act), read together with Sections 4 and 19 of the Federal Capital Territory Act, NEPZA has exclusive legal control and regulatory powers over designated free zones and enterprises therein, to the exclusion of the FCTA and the Minister of FCT.

“That the Minister of FCT and FCTA acted ultra vires and unconstitutionally by issuing a revocation of their land rights, as operators in the zone, and subsequently reallocated the land to a third party without proper authority or NEPZA’s consent, making the actions null, void, and without legal effect”.

Also, the plaintiffs sought “an order of the court to set aside the revocation and reallocation notices; to issue a perpetual injunction restraining the FCDA, FCTA, and their agents from interfering with the Plaintiffs’ possession and operations; and to compel NEPZA and other relevant federal authorities to protect and uphold their rights.”

The investors also raised the alarm to the Presidency through the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority NEPZA that the action of the FCTA is jeopardizing both direct foreign and domestic investments worth over N978 billion already committed to the zone.

The group further stated that The Abuja Free Trade Zone, housing the Technology Village, is not merely a parcel of land, but a national economic asset and visible symbol of Nigeria’s commitment to becoming an innovation-driven, investment-friendly economy.

“The preservation of Free Trade Zone legal status is essential to the sustainability of the Free Zone Scheme nationwide”, the investors added.

They noted that the Abuja Technology Village Free Trade Zone “hosts 29 licensed enterprises and also serving as the site for a major electric vehicle and renewable energy manufacturing initiative in partnership with three other countries. The revocation threatens this multi-stakeholder, multi-billion-naira project and undermines Mr President’s direct efforts to woo foreign investors under the Renewed Hope Agenda”.