Ministerial Task Force storms River Park Estate, enforces 'Stop Work', arrests Odili, Workers for defying Orders

The Federal Capital Territory, FCT,  Ministerial Task Force has stopped ongoing construction at the River Park Estate in Lugbe, Abuja, while arresting some workers who defied the orders of the court in the estate crisis. 

An Abuja High Court had earlier directed the warring parties in the River Park Estate dispute to “maintain the status quo” and stay off the contested properties. The court gave the ruling amid the legal battle over ownership and development rights within the sprawling River Park Estate in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

The ministerial task force including high powered directors with security agencies entered the estate on Wednesday and arrested workers who defied the court order including their boss. 

"One Paul Odili was also arrested after all the workers confirmed they were working for him. He was taken to STS/SARS office in Area 1 Guzape. He was released on a N200million bail and a directive to submit his passport," a top source revealed. 

It was gathered that the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, also demolished more than 30 substructures over violation of planning regulations.

The administration accused the affected developers of defying withdrawal of their lease agreements and a ministerial committee’s recommendation that all undeveloped plots in the estate be reverted to the FCTA.

The FCT minister, Nyesom Wike, had on August 8, 2025, inaugurated an ad-hoc committee to review controversies surrounding River Park Estate.

The committee, chaired by Barr. Salman Dako, submitted its report last week, recommending the revocation of undeveloped plots due to expiration and breach of the Development Lease Agreement (DLA), citing Clause 9.2 of the agreement.

The committee, however, clarified that holders of valid customary titles within the estate who had developed their plots in line with planning and development control regulations should retain their titles, in line with a subsisting court judgment. 

Leading enforcement officers to the site on Wednesday, Mukhtar Galadima, Director of Development Control,  said the demolition was prompted by intelligence reports that developers were rushing to complete structures in defiance of the directive. 

"About a week ago, one of the committees on River Park Estate recommended that all undeveloped plots within the estate be reverted back to the FCTA. We got reports that certain developers were hurriedly working day and night to develop some of the vacant plots. As an agency, we served them notice to stop work. This morning, we saw them still working, so we are removing the structures—the excavations and all those foundations put on the ground,” Galadima said. 

He confirmed that over 30 foundations had already been dug, but vowed that they would all be covered. 

“Whoever we see on site, we remove it. Luckily, they are just at excavation level. But wherever we see any new development coming up, we will remove it again,” he warned. 

It was learnt that despite the stop-work order, the Sector Center and Cluster 3 works were allegedly "still ongoing by defiant individuals linked to Paulo Homes and Aazik Homes." 

"Despite the stop work order, some workers were still working in Sector Center and Cluster 3 of the estate," a source added. 

The Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation also formally instructed the Nigerian police to halt all actions relating to Charge No. CR/402/25, filed by the police on June 26, and transmit the entire case file to the AGF for independent review.

The escalating scandal has raised tension in Abuja’s real estate and investment community.

Observers worry that the River Park Estate saga — from alleged forged CAC filings to rogue police interference — risks painting the FCT and Nigeria as unsafe for both local and foreign investors.

"What started as a land dispute has now become a test of Nigeria’s rule of law. If a Commissioner of Police can openly defy the AGF, ignore the IGP and attempt to influence court processes – its not just a scandal, it’s a constitutional crisis," one of them lamented.