The Department of State Services (DSS), Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command, has arrested the main suspect behind a major land scam involving the illegal sale of a 3.55-hectare plot originally allocated to a co-operative society within the State House.
Valued at over ₦500 million, the fraudulent scheme saw the land sold and resold multiple times in a series of suspicious transactions.
Sources familiar with the investigation revealed that the arrested individual, reportedly well-connected in Abuja’s political and real estate sectors, was apprehended after weeks of surveillance and questioning by the DSS. The suspect remains in custody as the probe continues.
The investigation was launched after the co-operative’s Executive Committee discovered in March 2025 that the property—intended for staff housing—had been illegally sold. The land was initially sold for ₦100 million, then resold for ₦150 million, followed by a ₦250 million transaction. A fourth attempted sale for ₦300 million triggered further scrutiny.
Following a formal petition submitted on April 2, the DSS commenced a full-scale investigation on April 8 after a high-level briefing with the Director General.
Several individuals linked to the transactions have been questioned, with some temporarily detained. Meanwhile, the DSS has ordered the fraudulent sellers to begin reimbursing unsuspecting buyers who had unknowingly purchased the land.
A joint review by the DSS and the Abuja Geographic Information Systems (AGIS) found that only ₦45 million of the total sum had been used for legitimate processes such as acquiring a Right of Occupancy, paying ground rent, and initiating a Certificate of Occupancy.
The co-operative’s leadership has vowed to pursue full recovery of the land and ensure that all parties involved face legal consequences, calling the case one of the most brazen examples of land fraud involving government staff property in recent memory.
