Wike Slashes C-of-O Waiting Time to 14 Days as FCT Processes Over 26,000 Titles

The Federal Capital Territory Administration has dramatically reduced the waiting period for landowners to obtain Certificates of Occupancy to just two weeks, marking a significant overhaul of land documentation processes that had previously kept thousands of property owners waiting for years or even decades.

The reform comes as the FCT Administration, under Minister Nyesom Wike, records 26,272 Certificates of Occupancy signed since President Bola Tinubu assumed office in May 2023. This figure represents a remarkable increase over the 8,697 C-of-Os produced and signed between 2010 and 2023, with the current administration processing 17,575 more certificates than were signed during the preceding 13-year period under former Presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari.

Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, explaining that the new process allows land allottees who have completed the required payments to obtain their Certificates of Occupancy within two weeks. “The moment necessary payments are made, land allottees can now get their C-of-O within two weeks,” Olayinka said. He added that the administration had introduced an automated notification system to alert allottees when their documents were ready for collection, further reducing the need for repeated visits to government offices.

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A breakdown of the figures showed that 5,500 Certificates of Occupancy were produced and signed during the five-and-a-half-year administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, while only 3,197 were processed during the eight-year administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari. Olayinka attributed the delays under previous administrations to inefficiencies in the system, which discouraged some landowners from completing payments on their land allocations. Many of the beneficiaries of the 26,272 C-of-Os processed under Wike had received their land allocations more than 10 years ago but were yet to obtain the necessary title documents, underscoring the scale of the backlog the current administration inherited.

The development is expected to have a direct impact on property owners and businesses that rely on land titles to access financing. A valid Certificate of Occupancy serves as an important instrument for securing commercial loans, mortgages and capital for business expansion. Without it, landowners sitting on valuable real assets have effectively been locked out of loans, mortgages, and expansion capital they could otherwise access. The FCT Administration said delays in obtaining title documents had historically restricted access to financing and created severe operational bottlenecks for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The FCT Administration also recorded an increase in other property-related approvals under the current administration. In the last three years, it granted 2,521 Consents to Assign and 177 Consents to Mortgage. This compares with 753 Consents to Assign and 180 Consents to Mortgage granted under Jonathan, and 684 Consents to Assign and 164 Consents to Mortgage under Buhari. A Consent to Assign is a legal document required for the transfer of property ownership, while a Consent to Mortgage is the official approval needed before a property can be used as collateral for a loan. The significant rise in Consents to Assign under Wike reflects a more efficient system for property transfers, while the slight decline in Consents to Mortgage may indicate a shift toward direct title issuance as the primary means of unlocking property value.

Behind the numbers, Olayinka said, is a backlog problem the current administration inherited rather than created. The 26,272 certificates signed under Wike had been sitting on land allocations that, in many cases, were over a decade old, meaning property owners who had paid for their allocations years ago could finally formalize their ownership. The FCT is fast becoming a hotspot for land acquisition and development, owing to its widespread road networks within the city centre and parts of the outskirts, and the new documentation reforms are expected to accelerate this trend by making it easier for investors to secure their property rights.

The FCT Administration said the reforms were designed to make land documentation faster and more efficient while unlocking the financial value of property and supporting the Federal Government’s broader ease-of-doing-business agenda under President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. By reducing bureaucratic bottlenecks, the administration aims to encourage investment in the FCT, create jobs, and stimulate economic activity through the real estate sector. Property owners and investors seeking to benefit from the new two-week C-of-O processing timeline are advised to ensure all required payments and documentation are completed promptly, while the automated notification system will provide timely updates on document readiness.

Wike Slashes C-of-O Waiting Time to 14 Days as FCT Processes Over 26,000 Titles

Police to prosecute Kogi man for allegedly setting wife ablaze

The Kogi State Police Command has arrested a 33-year-old man, Jacob Irewa, for allegedly setting his wife, Berida Irawo, ablaze following a domestic dispute in Lokoja.

The incident occurred on Friday, August 14, at Oworo Estate, Felele, in Lokoja, according to the police.

The victim reportedly sustained serious burns in the incident and is receiving treatment at Honey Gold Hospital, Felele.

The Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Afusat Saliu, said operatives of the B Division Surveillance Team responded to a distress call and moved to the scene, where they arrested the suspect.

Preliminary police investigations indicated that the disagreement between the couple allegedly started after Irawo burnt some of her husband’s clothes without his consent.

The dispute reportedly escalated after Irewa allegedly threatened his wife before obtaining petrol from his motorcycle and setting her on fire.

Saliu said the suspect admitted during questioning to setting his wife ablaze.

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She, however, said investigations were continuing to establish the full circumstances of the incident and gather additional evidence.

The police have not disclosed the extent of the victim’s injuries or how long she is expected to remain in hospital.

The Kogi State Commissioner of Police, CP Naziru Kankarofi, condemned the alleged attack, describing it as barbaric and unacceptable.

Kankarofi reaffirmed the command’s zero tolerance for domestic violence and warned that anyone found to have endangered another person’s life would face the full weight of the law.

“The command will not condone any action capable of endangering lives. We encourage citizens to seek peaceful and legal means of settling disagreements,” the commissioner said.

The police said the suspect would be charged with attempted culpable homicide after the conclusion of investigations.

The command also appealed to residents to report cases of domestic abuse and violence to the appropriate authorities before disputes escalate into potentially fatal incidents.

The latest development adds to concerns over domestic violence and the need for early intervention when conflicts within households become threatening.

For now, Irewa remains an accused person, and the allegation against him will be subject to judicial determination if the case proceeds to court.

Police to prosecute Kogi man for allegedly setting wife ablaze

NDLEA arrests businessman with cocaine, seizes N3.6bn drugs in Lagos

48-year-old marble dealer who liquidated his business to fund N23 million cocaine deal was intercepted at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, while separate operations uncovered 377,600 bottles of codeine syrup and 324kg of synthetic cannabis

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 48-year-old Lagos businessman at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) while attempting to smuggle 1.550 kilograms of cocaine to New Delhi, India, in an operation that also yielded drug seizures valued at over N3.6 billion across multiple states. The suspect, identified as Nwankwo Innocent Onyebuchi, who operated a marble trading business in Lagos, was intercepted at the departure hall of Terminal II while preparing to board a Qatar Airways flight to India, according to a statement by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Mr. Femi Babafemi. A search of his check-in luggage uncovered the cocaine ingeniously concealed within the factory-fitted side walls and railings of his travel bag—a sophisticated concealment method designed specifically to beat airport security screening.

In a confession described by investigators as revealing the desperation that fuels the illicit drug trade, Onyebuchi admitted that he had sold off his marble business and every asset he owned to raise the N23 million he paid for the cocaine consignment. He reportedly told NDLEA operatives that he intended to sell the narcotics in India for approximately N100 million, hoping to make a substantial fortune from the transaction. His arrest, however, abruptly ended the venture, and with his assets gone and his dream of transitioning from a legitimate marble trader to a drug kingpin effectively shattered, he remains in NDLEA custody pending prosecution and likely time in jail.

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The airport arrest came as the anti-narcotics agency intensified intelligence-driven operations across the country. In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives acting on credible intelligence raided a warehouse within a residential compound at 20 Hakeem Dosumu Street, Ago Palace area of Okota, Lagos. The raid, conducted between August 7 and 8, 2026, uncovered a massive stockpile of codeine-based syrup—a total of 3,776 cartons, comprising 377,600 bottles of the controlled substance, valued at over N2.6 billion. Codeine, a highly addictive opioid, is frequently abused in Nigeria and has been linked to widespread public health concerns, particularly among young people, and the seizure represents one of the largest single hauls of the substance in recent years.

Yet in another intelligence-led operation, NDLEA operatives on August 14 raided the residence of a 55-year-old kingpin, Shoremi Kayode, at 37 Ogundare Street, Ipaja Estate, Lagos. The raid resulted in the recovery of 324 kilograms of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis, with an estimated street value of N972 million. Also recovered from the suspect were a Mercedes-Benz car and a Toyota Corolla car, believed to have been acquired through proceeds of the illicit drug trade. The arrest and seizure further demonstrate the NDLEA’s commitment to targeting high-value drug trafficking networks and their assets, sending a strong message that crime does not pay.

The NDLEA confirmed that the Lagos operations were part of coordinated enforcement actions across multiple states, including Kano, Kwara, Edo, Plateau, Oyo, and Delta states, resulting in the seizure of large quantities of cocaine, cannabis, opioids, and other controlled substances. The agency credited the successes to intelligence-driven operations and inter-agency collaboration, which have become the hallmark of the NDLEA’s approach under its current leadership. The War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy activities by NDLEA commands also continued during the period under review, reflecting the agency’s dual approach of reducing both drug supply and drug demand.

The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, retired Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa, commended the officers, men, and women of the MMIA and Lagos commands for the arrests and seizures made during the period under review. Marwa also praised their counterparts across all commands for pursuing a fair balance between drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts. He has previously described the war against illicit drugs as a “generational responsibility” requiring sustained commitment, noting that “for every cartel we dismantle, intelligence tells us another will attempt to rise.” The agency continues to call on members of the public to provide timely and credible information to support law enforcement efforts, emphasizing that community participation is essential in the fight against drug trafficking and abuse.

NDLEA arrests businessman with cocaine, seizes N3.6bn drugs in Lagos