The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has confirmed that the dispute between the Federal Capital Development Authority and Ghanaian-owned real estate developer, JonahCapital Nigeria Limited, over the development of River Park Estate, Lugbe, Abuja, is now before international arbitration.

JonahCapital had activated the arbitration clause in its Development Lease Agreement against the FCDA and the Federal Capital Territory Administration before the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris, France, challenging the alleged termination of the agreement and seeking appropriate reliefs.

The dispute concerns Plot 4, Cadastral Zone E30, Lugbe West, Abuja, where River Park Estate was developed under the FCT Mass Housing Scheme. The Development Lease Agreement was executed on May 28, 2007, between the FCT Minister and JonahCapital Nigeria Limited, and registered on June 5, 2007 as No. FC113 at Page 113 in Volume 20MSC.

The agreement granted JonahCapital development rights over approximately 501 hectares of land for the construction of a large-scale mixed-use estate comprising residential housing, shopping centres, office complexes, healthcare facilities, places of worship and supporting infrastructure.

JonahCapital commenced the arbitration after what it described as repeated breaches of the DLA, including the FCDA’s alleged termination of the lease on November 5, 2025, despite the company’s claim that the agreement remained valid until June 2030.

The company also complained of the FCDA’s alleged fencing of portions of the disputed property while arbitral proceedings are pending, a development it said could further heighten tensions around one of Abuja’s major mass housing projects.

Speaking during a recent media parley, Wike confirmed that the matter had moved to arbitration.

“The other party has gone to arbitration, we say okay, until you finish from arbitration,” the minister said.

Wike, however, maintained that the FCDA had a contractual relationship with JonahCapital and not Paulo Homes Limited, which he said was introduced by the company. He further stated that the DLA executed with JonahCapital had expired and that the authority had consequently taken back the land.

JonahCapital, on its part, argued that while it was implementing the River Park Estate project, several individuals and entities who were neither allottees nor parties to the DLA began asserting ownership claims over portions of the estate, resulting in years of litigation, administrative disputes and competing claims.

The Ghanaian-owned developer also contends that the FCDA failed to provide primary infrastructure, including roads, electricity and water supply, as required under the agreement, forcing it to finance and construct the infrastructure at enormous cost.

The company further argued that Clause 7.7 of the DLA required building approval fees to be deferred, but alleged that the FCDA demanded upfront payment contrary to the contractual provisions.

With the matter now before the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris, the legality of the alleged termination of the Development Lease Agreement, the status of the disputed property and the rights of the parties under the River Park Estate project are expected to be determined through the arbitral process.

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