The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Abuja branch, has threatened to resist what it described as the unlawful allocation of the institution’s land to private companies and individuals by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
The union also warned that it could no longer guarantee industrial harmony at the university if the minister failed to reverse the alleged allocation.
The ASUU branch made its position known on Tuesday during a press conference addressed by its chairperson, Prof. Sylvanus Ugoh, titled “Ministerial Encroachment into University of Abuja Land: Some Points to Ponder.”
Ugoh accused the FCT minister of disregarding a subsisting court order restraining him from entering or encroaching on the university’s land.
According to him, Justice F.E. Mesiri of the Maitama High Court, on August 18, granted an interlocutory injunction restraining the minister from interfering with the disputed land.
He, however, alleged that Wike proceeded to allocate portions of the land to companies and individuals on September 26, despite the court order.
“The act of the FCT Minister is an outright breach and total disregard for the rule of law,” Ugoh said.
The ASUU chairperson recalled that Wike had, on June 30, 2025, announced the recovery of 7,000 hectares out of the 11,000 hectares allocated to the university during the inauguration of an access road to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Academy in Giri.
The minister had reportedly accused the university of land grabbing and illegally fencing off several hectares without the necessary approval or documentation.
However, Ugoh insisted that the university possessed sufficient documentary evidence establishing its ownership of the disputed land.
He explained that the University of Abuja was established on January 1, 1988, with an initial land allocation of 11,824 hectares to accommodate its long-term academic, research and infrastructural development.
According to him, the land was deliberately allocated to the institution to provide room for future expansion, research activities, academic facilities and other essential institutional needs.
He maintained that the university could not have independently determined the location or size of the land allocated to it, stressing that both the institution and the land belonged to the Federal Government.
Ugoh further argued that the university’s dual-mode system, which accommodates both conventional and distance learning programmes, required a substantial landmass to effectively fulfil its mandate.
He added that the land was also needed for research institutes, innovation centres, environmental conservation and other facilities capable of contributing to national development.
Responding to arguments that the university had failed to develop the land over the years, the ASUU chairman said the responsibility for developing federal universities rested with the Federal Government.
He also cited other Nigerian universities with larger land allocations, including the University of Ilorin, which occupies 15,000 hectares; Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, with 13,000 hectares; the Federal University of Technology, Minna, with 10,650 hectares; and the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, with 10,000 hectares.
He noted that approximately two hectares of the University of Abuja’s land were hilly and would require substantial financial resources to develop.
The union maintained that the size of the institution’s land was not excessive, considering its status as a dual-mode university located in Nigeria’s capital.
Ugoh said ASUU would explore all lawful means to resist any attempt to take over the university’s land, insisting that the union would not remain silent over what it considered an infringement on the institution’s rights.
The union also appealed to President Bola Tinubu to intervene and call the FCT minister to order to prevent further tension and ensure peace and industrial harmony within the university community.
The press conference followed an emergency congress of the university’s ASUU branch held on November 3, where members deliberated on the ongoing land dispute.
