DSS arrests instigator of ₦500m State House land fraud

Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS), FCT Command, has arrested the unnamed principal suspect in a land fraud involving the illegal sale of a 3.55-hectare parcel of land belonging to a State House-based co-operative society.

The racket, valued at over ₦500 million, involved multiple fraudulent transactions.

Sources close to the investigation confirmed that the suspect, described as a well-connected individual with long-standing ties to political and real estate circles in Abuja, was taken into custody following weeks of surveillance and interrogations led by the DSS.

The arrest was part of a broader investigation initiated after the co-operative’s Executive Committee discovered in March 2025 that their land, originally allocated for staff housing development, had been illegally sold and resold multiple times.

According to internal reports shared with co-operative members, the land was first sold for ₦100 million, then ₦150 million, and most recently for ₦250 million before a fourth attempted sale pegged at ₦300 million was uncovered.

A formal petition was submitted to the DSS on April 2, 2025, following which the agency launched a full investigation on April 8 after a briefing with the Director General.

Several individuals connected to the fraudulent transactions have been questioned, with some detained and later released.

However, the principal actor behind the scheme has remained in custody as investigations continue.

The DSS has also compelled the fraudulent sellers to begin refunding money to the buyers who unknowingly paid for the stolen land.

A joint review by DSS and the Abuja Geographic Information Systems (AGIS) determined that ₦45 million was legitimately spent on official land processes such as securing a Right of Occupancy, paying ground rent, and initiating a Certificate of Occupancy application.

The executive committee of the co-operative has pledged to ensure full recovery of the land and to ensure that justice is served in what is being described as one of the most audacious land scams involving government staff property in recent years.