FCT Demolishes Abuja’s Peka Park as Owners Allege N1bn Loss
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Owners of Peka Park and Garden in Wuse, Abuja, allege that FCT officials demolished property, equipment and investments worth more than N1 billion despite a subsisting court order restraining interference with the premises.
A fresh controversy over the enforcement of court orders in the Federal Capital Territory has erupted after parts of Peka Park and Garden in Wuse, Abuja, were demolished, with the property owners alleging that FCT officials carried out the exercise despite a subsisting court order restraining interference with the premises.
The owners, Obike Industries Nigeria Limited, said the demolition destroyed property, equipment and other investments worth more than N1 billion, and accused officials of proceeding with the exercise despite being formally notified of the court order.
Director Onyeka Ikenta, speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Monday, said the disputed property, identified as Plot 1353, Cadastral Zone A02, Wuse 1 District, was originally designated as a green area before it was offered for management and development through a bidding process. He said the FCT Administration advertised the management of the reserve in 2006 and his company emerged among the successful bidders in 2007, after which it transformed the 4.05-hectare property into a recreational and hospitality facility that employed more than 100 people.
Ikenta said the dispute eventually reached the FCT High Court in 2016 in Suit No. CV-840-2016, involving the FCT Minister, the Federal Capital Development Authority and other parties. After the court conducted an inspection of the property on March 2, 2017, Justice U.P. Kekemeke issued an interlocutory order on March 9, 2017, restraining the first and second defendants from dealing with the property in a manner adverse to the interests of the company.
He alleged that the situation escalated on September 15, 2026, when FCT officials returned to the property, issued a quit notice and marked structures for demolition, claiming the property had been revoked and allocated or sold to another party. The company, he said, wrote to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and other officials drawing attention to the court order, and commenced further legal processes including the issuance of Form 48 and Form 49.
Ikenta alleged that despite those steps, officials returned to the premises on September 24 with bulldozers and heavy-duty equipment, pulling down the perimeter fence, and that another demolition on September 28 caused further destruction. He alleged that personnel from several security agencies, including the police, Army, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Immigration Service and Department of State Services, were present, and that a company identified as Legitimate Properties Limited later moved to take possession of the property. The company has appealed to President Bola Tinubu, the FCT Minister, the National Assembly and the judiciary to intervene, warning that the development could undermine investor confidence.