The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Bola Tinubu to act to prevent what it refers to as a “purported threat” made by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to close 34 foreign embassies in Abuja due to unpaid ground rents.
In a statement issued on its official 𝕏 Twitter on Monday, June 9, SERAP warned that such a move would violate international law and diplomatic procedures.
SERAP cited Article 22 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which protects diplomatic missions and prohibits searches, requisitions, attachments, or executions on their premises.
President Tinubu should alert and advise FCT Minister Nyesom Wike to remove the threat to close 34 embassies in Abuja.
Article 22, paragraph 1 of the Vienna Convention specifies that ‘[t]he premises of the mission should be inviolable’.
“Article 22, paragraph 3, sets out that ‘[t]he premises of the mission, their furnishings and other property thereon and the means of transport of the mission shall be immune from search, requisition, attachment or execution’,” the organization informed me.
According to reports, the controversy stems from recent disclosures by the Federal Capital Territory Administration, which show that at least 34 embassies in Abuja have overdue ground rentals from 2014.
These missions’ total debt surpasses ₦3.66 million.
Among the embassies identified as defaulters are those from Ghana, Thailand, Côte d’Ivoire, Russia, the Philippines, the Netherlands, Turkey, Guinea, Ireland, Uganda, Iraq, Zambia, Tanzania, Germany, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Venezuela, Korea, Trinidad and Tobago, Egypt, Chad, India, Sudan, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Indonesia, the European Union, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, China, South Africa, and Equatorial Guinea.
Some debts are as low as ₦150, while others exceed ₦1 million, such as the Zambia High Commission (₦1,189,990), Indonesia’s Defence Attaché (₦1,718,211), and China’s Economic and Commercial Counsellor’s Office (₦12,000.
FCT Minister Wike issued a decree on May 26 mandating enforcement measures against 4,794 properties with overdue rents ranging from 10 to 43 years.
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This directive also applied to embassies that had similarly defaulted. Tinubu responded to public uproar and diplomatic sensitivity by offering a 14-day grace period, which ends today (Monday).
The FCTA’s Director of Land, Chijioke Nwankwoeze, stated that embassies and other defaulters would face penalty costs of ₦2 million or ₦3 million, depending on the location of their premises.
While SERAP acknowledged the importance of revenue collection, it emphasised that such activities should not violate diplomatic procedures or international agreements.
