HUMAN rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has warned the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, not to contemplate sealing 34 embassies and foreign missions said to be owing ground rents in the nation’s capital city Abuja.
“Embassies and missions cannot be invaded because they have not paid ground rent, which is not applicable for all of them,” the senior advocate said on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday monitored by News Point Nigeria.
The Wike administration in the FCT had published the details of 9,000 debtors in newspapers, asking them to pay their ground rents to avoid the risk of forfeiture of their land.
The FCT Administration announced on May 23, 2025, that it would take possession of about 5,000 affected properties owing ground rents between 10 and 43 years and began sealing and taking over properties of debtors including the PDP national secretariat but President Bola Tinubu granted the defaulters a 14-day grace period to settle their outstanding payments and penalties.
The grace period elapsed on Friday, June 6, 2025, which was a public holiday for Eid celebrations. Many Nigerians anticipate the next line of action by the Wike administration after the Sallah holidays on Tuesday, June 10, 2025.
Falana argued that there are about 20 high court, appeal court, and Supreme Court decisions that ruled that the FCT authorities have no right to unilaterally seal up any property within the nation’s capital.
The senior lawyer said, “As far as the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations is concerned, the premises of any embassy in Abuja are inviolable by Article 22 of the convention.
“If we embark on invading the embassy of any country, it’s going to lead to serious diplomatic problems for Nigeria. So, it is not allowed.
“The minister cannot order that a house be sealed up because the right to a fair hearing is guaranteed by Section 36 of the Constitution and Article 7 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights Act. What this implies is that before you can take action against me, you must give me the right to make a representation.”
Falana said the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar; and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi; should quickly advise the FCT minister.
“I expect the Minister of Foreign Affairs to have intervened. I also expect the Attorney General of the Federation to intervene,” he said.
“The rule of law must be allowed to operate. Yes, people are owing. Too bad! But if you want to collect your money, you must go to court.
“There is a tribunal in Abuja — Urban and Regional Planning Tribunal constituted by five members from the building industry. That is the body that has the final say on demolition and attempts to seal up properties. In other words, anybody who is aggrieved by the threat to seal up a property is advised to go to court. We are operating a democracy,” he added.