The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, has signed 26,272 Certificates of Occupancy (C of Os) in the first three years of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Senior Special Assistant to the minister on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.

Olayinka said the move was aimed at improving ease of doing business in the FCT, in line with Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

He said the figure surpassed the 8,697 C of Os produced and signed between 2010 and 2023.

According to him, 5,500 C of Os were signed during the five-and-a-half-year administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, while 3,197 were produced and signed during the eight-year administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

He said many allottees who benefited from the 26,272 C of Os obtained their land allocations more than 10 years ago.

Olayinka said C of Os served as collateral for commercial loans, mortgages and business expansion.

He said the inability of property owners to obtain C of Os when needed remained a challenge for small and medium-sized businesses, as it restricted access to funding.

“To address this challenge, the FCT Administration under President Tinubu has streamlined the process to enable land allottees receive their documents within two weeks of completing payments.

“The moment necessary payments are made, land allottees can now get their C of O within two weeks.

“Also, automated notifications have been introduced to ensure that land allottees are informed when their documents are ready for collection,” Olayinka said.

He attributed previous delays to inefficiencies that discouraged landowners from completing their payments.

Olayinka said, in addition to the 26,272 C of Os, the FCT Administration granted 2,521 Consents to Assign and 177 Consents to Mortgage in the last three years.

He said this compared with 753 Consents to Assign and 180 Consents to Mortgage granted during the Jonathan administration, and 684 Consents to Assign and 164 Consents to Mortgage under Buhari.

He explained that Consent to Assign was a legal document required for the transfer of property ownership, while Consent to Mortgage was required before a property could be used as collateral for a loan.

By Tony Obiechina, Abuja

TAJBank Limited, Nigeria’s most innovative-driven and largest non-interest bank (NIB) by assets, has sustained its frontline position in the nation’s ethical banking space with its Profit Before Tax (PBT) surging year-on-year by74% to N31.

562 billion in FY2025, from N18. 166 billion recorded in FY2024.

The latest data from the bank’s audited FY2025 financial statements reflected that its total assets grew to N1.34 trillion from N953 billion in the preceding year, while the non-interest lender’s total equity grew to N149.230 billion, reflecting 144% growth over the N61.

250 billion recorded in the preceding year among other positive Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of its operations during the year.

To reward the shareholders for their commitment to the sustainable growth of the bank as Nigeria’s largest ethical bank by assets, the Board at the bank’s just concluded virtual 2026 Annual General Meeting (AGM) approved 20 kobo dividend per share for the investors, one of the highest dividends per share ratio in the nation’s banking industry.

Commenting on the Board’s decision on the dividend payment during a brief chat with journalists on decisions taken during the AGM, the Board Chairman, Alhaji Tanko Gwamna, said: “The Board rewarded the shareholders for their contributions to the growth of TAJBank as we have been doing over the years.”  

In his remarks, the bank’s Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Hamid Joda, described the improving financial performance of TAJBank “as a clear demonstration of the management’s adoption of prudential financial approach in our operations and this is already helping to grow investor confidence in the bank.

“I am using this opportunity to thank the shareholders and to assure them that come rain or shine, their funds are secured and will continue to yield sustainable good returns to them on a yearly basis.”

Also, the bank’s Executive Director, Mr. Sheriff Idi, enthused: “We greatly value our shareholders and customers because their interest is why we are in business and we will always prioritize them in our operations.”

After five years of operations in Nigeria’s rapidly evolving non-interest banking (NIB) space, TAJBank Limited was recently rated by the regulatory authorities as the biggest player in the NIB subsector based on its approved financial statements for the half year 2025, in terms of total assets and gross earnings values.

It would be recalled that TAJBank had in 2021, 2022 and 2023 won the BusinessDay’s awards and before then, bagged the Leadership Newspapers’ 2020 ‘Bank Of The Year’ award.

In recognition of the non-interest lender’s strict compliance with global best practices, particularly in information security standards in its operations, TAJBank had between year 2022  and 2023 bagged the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) certification, and three International Standards Organisation (ISO) certifications by the Certification Partner Global (CPG), namely ISO 27001, ISO 22301, and ISO 20000 on Information Security, Business Continuity, and IT Service Management Systems

From Attah Ede, Makurdi

Terrorists suspected to be herdsmen have attacked communities in Ukum Local Government Area of Benue State, killing three residents and injuring four others.

The attack occurred in the early hours of Sunday in Mbaterem, Ayaba, Ikpur, Yina, Aboajio and Ukpen communities of Mbazun Ward.

The Benue State Police Command confirmed the incident, saying three persons were killed while four others sustained varying degrees of machete injuries.

The injured victims were rescued and taken to a medical facility for treatment.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Peter Aondongu, initially confirmed that an attack had occurred in Ukum, while a subsequent statement issued on behalf of the Commissioner of Police, Cletus Nwadiogbu, provided further details.

According to the command, additional tactical and patrol teams have been deployed to the affected communities, while security operations are ongoing to apprehend the perpetrators.

Reacting to the attack, Governor Hyacinth Alia commended security agencies for their prompt response and expressed condolences to the families of those killed, while wishing the injured residents a speedy recovery.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula, the governor said the attackers were terrorists “masquerading as herdsmen” and vowed that his administration would continue to support security agencies in protecting residents.

Alia warned those seeking to undermine the peace process in the state, declaring that attacks would not force Benue residents to abandon their ancestral lands.

“Benue lands are for Benue people. Anyone who thinks that attacking us will intimidate us to leave the land is making a mistake,” the governor said.

He added: “I took an oath to protect our people, and I will not relent.”

The governor also acknowledged the support of the Federal Government in efforts to tackle terrorism and urged residents to remain vigilant and promptly report suspicious movements to security authorities.

He further directed security agencies to maintain a strong presence in strategic locations across the state to counter what he described as unrelenting attacks by “enemies of the state.”

The Ukum attack comes amid a recent wave of violence and abductions in parts of Benue.

On Thursday night, gunmen reportedly abducted 14 passengers travelling in an 18-seater bus along the Ankpechi–Omutele axis of Ohimini Local Government Area. Police subsequently confirmed that five victims, including a four-year-old boy, had been rescued, while nine others remained in captivity as of Friday.

The latest attack has heightened concerns over the security situation in the state, with authorities again calling for vigilance and cooperation between residents and security agencies.