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The Suleja Development Association (SUDA) has once again opposed the reported plan to convert the former Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) base camp in Suleja into a commercial facility, insisting that the property should remain dedicated to higher education.
SUDA’s latest position comes amid reports that the Niger State Government intends to develop the property through a deal involving a military-linked entity. The dispute follows an earlier proposal to convert the site, currently associated with the Suleja campus of the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University (IBBU), into a market.
The controversy has drawn growing attention to Suleja, with residents and community leaders arguing the site should be preserved for educational development.
The community says the government has ignored its concerns
SUDA public relations officer Umar Shuaibu said in a statement on Friday that community representatives had formally written to the government seeking dialogue on the future of the property.
According to him, the association did not receive any response before reports emerged of a deal involving a military organization.
Shuaibu said the community will oppose any attempt to use the proposed agreement to pressure residents to accept the change.
He said SUDA had documentation relating to his position and was prepared to take legal action if necessary.
Centers of controversy on the proposed market
The latest disagreement follows an earlier dispute over plans to develop a market on the site.
SUDA had publicly rejected the proposed conversion in September, arguing that the property should instead continue to serve as an educational facility.
Reports on the previous proposal stated that the planned commercial development involved the Nigerian Army Properties Limited (NAPL) and was valued at about $121 billion. These reports further stated that the proposed project was the subject of a memorandum of understanding with the Niger State Government.
The position of the Niger State Government on the latest SUDA allegations should be obtained and included prior to publication if available.
The Field Base has particular historical significance in the development of Nigeria’s capital.
Available historical accounts say the site was established in 1977 as an operational base for the FCDA during the early development of Abuja.
It served as an administrative and operational headquarters during the planning and implementation of work on the new Federal Capital. One historical account describes the Suleja facility as the first headquarters of the FCDA before operations moved to the new capital.
The territory itself is the subject of competing historical and legal narratives.
SUDA claims that it was originally part of ancestral agricultural lands belonging to local communities and was handed over for the national capital project in the public interest.
The association says the community expected the property to ultimately produce lasting development benefits.
The story of the property does not end with the relocation of the FCDA to Abuja.
Historical accounts indicate that the former field base was officially handed over to the Niger State Government and Suleja Local Government Council in 2007.
The site later became associated with IBBU’s Suleja campus.
An IBBU 2014 development plan document provides particularly useful historical evidence. It describes the property as approximately 46.47 hectares and identifies it as the former Suleja field base.
Importantly, the university’s proposed development included an executive education campus with academic, commercial, recreational and community uses.
This is relevant because it demonstrates that the educational use of the property predates the current controversy.
SUDA says its opposition is not simply about maintaining an existing college campus.
The association argues that Suleja needs a permanent higher education institution due to the city’s size, population and proximity to Abuja.
Shuaibu said the community had previously supported efforts to expand higher education at the site.
He also said local stakeholders had proposed locating a teaching hospital of IBB University on the Suleja campus, but the project was later linked to another site in Minna.
Similarly, a May 2026 commentary on the controversy reported that community representatives had supported the establishment of a teaching hospital in the Suleja locality before the Niger State government sought a different site.
SUDA’s argument also relies heavily on Suleja’s historical relationship to the creation of Abuja.
Shuaibu said the community has made significant sacrifices in support of the Federal Capital project and should therefore receive long-term development benefits.
He was specifically referring to the community’s claim that large portions of its ancestral territory had been incorporated into the Federal Capital Territory.
Such historical and land title claims constitute the SUDA record and should be distinguished from independently established land title facts.
The association says the Suleja campus is already providing educational opportunities to local residents through diploma and postgraduate programmes.
Its position is that expanding the campus would provide a longer-term public benefit than replacing the educational facility with a commercial marketplace.
Previous reports confirm that community objection centers on retaining the property for education rather than commercial development.
Shuaibu rejected suggestions that the dispute was driven by differences between political parties.
He said the issue affects residents of all political affiliations and concerns the future development of Suleja.
The association wants the government to maintain the Field Base as a permanent center of higher education.
The latest statement indicates that SUDA is ready to take the dispute to court if dialogue fails.
The community had previously threatened legal action during its September opposition to the proposed market.
Reports at the time said residents had given the Niger State government a deadline to reconsider the proposed conversion. (Eighteen-Eleven Average)
The latest developments therefore represent an escalation of an issue that has been developing for several months rather than an entirely new controversy.
This distinction is important to the publication because the current controversy contains historical claims, go
The controversy over the Suleja camp base raises a broader question about how public land should be used when competing interests exist.
On the one hand there is the question of commercial development and investment in infrastructure.
On the other hand is the community argument that Suleja needs permanent infrastructure for tertiary education, particularly where an educational facility is already operational.
The next significant development is likely to be whether the Niger State government formally responds to SUDA’s objections and clarifies the status and terms of any agreement regarding the property.
