EXCLUSIVE: How Nigerian Police Took ₦5million Bribe To Cover Up Murder In Abuja Community By Land Grabbers Led By Bwari Chairman

The Nigerian police have been accused of colluding with powerful politicians and estate developers in Abuja to cover up a deadly case of land grabbing which led to the brutal killing of a young man and gunshot injuries to three others in Kuchigbuyi community, Kubwa District, Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The deceased was identified as Abubakar Attahiru, the son of the village Imam. According to community sources, he was shot dead on the spot. 

His corpse was later seized by the police. Three others sustained fatal gunshot wounds and were taken away along with several arrested youths.

A source who is privy to the situation told SaharaReporters that the police deliberately compromised the investigation after receiving millions of naira from Bwari Area Council Chairman, Mr. John Gabaya, and Grow Homes Estate Managing Director, Mr. Roland Aigbedion, who are both accused of masterminding the land dispute.

He said: “The Nigerian police have compromised the serious case of reckless land grabbing by Chairman Bwari Area Council, John Gabaya, and the owner of Grow Homes Estate, Mr. Roland Aigbedion, which led to the police killing, injury and arrest of youths of Kuchigbuyi Village, Kubwa District, Abuja, on the 2nd day of August 2025.”

According to the source, instead of pursuing justice for the community, the council chairman and the estate developer bought their way out of accountability.

“The Bwari Area Council Chairman was said to have paid ₦5million to the police to cover up the case, while the Grow Estate owner, Roland Aigbedion, also parted with a yet undisclosed amount. As a result, more than a month after the incident, neither Mr. Aigbedion nor Gabaya has been questioned till date, not to talk of being arrested or detained,” the source revealed.

SaharaReporters gathered that the bloody clash began when Aigbedion, accompanied by surveyors, entered the Kuchigbuyi community to survey land allegedly acquired through illegal allocation papers issued by Gabaya. 

The villagers, angered by what they described as another attempt to rob them of their ancestral land, intercepted Aigbedion and took him to the palace of the community chief for questioning.

While at the palace, Aigbedion reportedly put a call through to the council chairman. Within minutes, a combined team of police officers and soldiers stormed the community, firing live bullets at unarmed villagers.

The source said: “Rather than investigate and prosecute the killers, the corpse of Abubakar Attahiru was smuggled back to the community and secretly buried. The arrested youths were detained at the IRS (former SARS) office for almost a month before they were released and warned never to talk on the case or face re-arrest. 

“The three persons who received bullet injuries were secretly treated by the police and also released back to the community with a stern warning to keep quiet or face arrest and detention.”

The development has triggered outrage among residents and Gbagyi youth groups in the FCT, who have vowed not to allow the killing and intimidation go unchallenged.

“Indigenes of Abuja have been secretly having meetings on the issue and have vowed to take a decision that would shake the entire FCT and put a permanent end to the activities of the land grabbers,” the source disclosed.

SaharaReporters further learnt that the Emir of Bwari, known as the OSU, has intervened to calm down the angry youths, though many still insist they would seek justice “by all means.”

SaharaReporters gathered that the incident of August 2, 2025, was not an isolated one but part of a wider fraudulent scheme allegedly run by Chairman Gabaya. 

Community leaders accused him of habitually issuing backdated allocation papers to land grabbers, enabling private estates like Grow Homes to acquire farmlands belonging to natives.

The source alleged: “It is the fraudulent practice of Bwari Area Council Chairman to issue backdated allocation papers to land grabbers for private estates. He connives with the counsellors, chiefs, and sometimes the security agencies to collect lands in occupation of the villagers in exchange for money. 

"Grow Homes Estate had before now taken over a hundred hectares of land adjoining the community through this method and had embarked on this new grabbing after developing, sharing, and selling the same. This is the secret behind the unexplained large wealth of the Chairman and his council members.”

Kuchibuyi community, which is reputed for sustaining Kubwa township and Abuja at large with agricultural produce, has now been thrown into mourning and anger. The killing of Attahiru, the Imam’s son, has deepened tensions in the area.

Residents say their troubles worsened after the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, commenced the construction of a road connecting the village through Kubwa township to Bwari town, which increased the land’s value and attracted land speculators.

Community leaders have also insisted that Gabaya has no legal powers to allocate land for residential use or for army personnel, stressing that such powers are vested only in the FCT Minister.