By Our Correspondent
The Federal Government College Kano Old Students Association, FGCKOSA, has filed a suit before the Federal High Court, Abuja, challenging the purported Public Private Partnership land-swap arrangement involving Federal Government College Kano, the Federal Ministry of Education, Pluck Global Company Limited, the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, and other relevant Federal Government authorities. The suit has been assigned to Hon. Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja Judicial Division, and the first hearing has been fixed for 8 July 2026.
*The Defendants in the suit include the Federal Minister of Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Minister of Education, Pluck Global Company Limited, the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, and the Attorney-General of the Federation.*
The Attorney-General of the Federation was deliberately joined as a party because this is not an ordinary private dispute. The suit raises serious questions about the legality of Federal Government action, the authority of federal ministries over public land, the validity of a purported concession affecting a Federal Government school, and the protection of public assets held for educational purposes. As the Chief Law Officer of the Federation, the Attorney-General has a constitutional responsibility to ensure that Federal Government institutions act within the law and that public property is not unlawfully alienated under any guise.
This suit was filed because the future of Federal Government College Kano cannot be decided in secrecy, by administrative fiat, or through a private commercial arrangement that converts school land into a private estate. The core question before the court is simple: can land belonging to a Federal Government school, held for public educational purposes, be converted into private land and transferred to a private developer under the cover of a PPP or concession agreement?
The suit also seeks judicial clarification on the respective powers of the Federal Ministry of Education, the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Executive Council, the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, and Pluck Global Company Limited in relation to the land comprised within Federal Government College Kano.
This action became necessary because every peaceful request for transparency has been met with evasion. FGCKOSA wrote to the Federal Ministry of Education asking for clarification and copies of the alleged concession documents. FGCKOSA also wrote to the ICRC requesting the PPP agreement and related approval documents. The ICRC’s response confirmed that the transaction was undertaken by the Federal Ministry of Education as the contracting authority and directed the request back to the Ministry. To date, the full agreement, approval trail, valuation basis, procurement process, Federal Executive Council approval, and legal authority for the land conversion have not been publicly disclosed.
Even more troubling is the conduct that followed the existing court order in Kano. Despite a subsisting order restraining further steps in relation to the disputed land, persons connected with the project were seen entering the school premises and marking out portions of the land. This was not a harmless administrative act. It was a direct attempt to push the land-swap forward in defiance of a pending judicial process.
The Ministry of Education has also continued to act as if the transaction is irreversible. Reports that steps are being taken to relocate or recreate school facilities outside the concessioned area only deepen public concern. Federal Government College Kano is not vacant land. Its land was reserved for education, security, recreation, expansion, and the long-term development of the school. To carve out approximately 30 hectares from that land for private residential and commercial development is to permanently damage the institution.
The Association has never opposed genuine development. What we oppose is the secretive stripping of public school assets under a transaction that has not been properly explained to the alumni, parents, students, staff, host community, or the Nigerian public. FGCKOSA has already proposed a credible alternative: an alumni-led, transparent, non-land-sale redevelopment plan for Federal Government College Kano. That plan seeks to rebuild the school, raise dedicated funds, attract grants and CSR support, improve infrastructure, strengthen academic standards, and preserve the school’s land for educational use. We do not need to sell the school to save it.
By this suit, FGCKOSA seeks the following outcomes:
First, a clear declaration that public land held for Federal Government College Kano cannot be converted into private land for a private developer under the guise of a PPP.
Second, an order setting aside any purported concession, transfer, lease, sale, or land-swap arrangement that violates the Land Use Act, the relevant concession laws, and the constitutional responsibilities of public authorities.
Third, a perpetual injunction restraining the Ministry of Education, Pluck Global Company Limited, and all persons acting for them from dealing with, selling, allocating, marking, developing, or interfering with the disputed land.
Fourth, full accountability from every public institution involved in the conception, approval, promotion, and attempted execution of this transaction.
Fifth, a clear legal position from the court on whether any ministry, agency, or private company can treat Federal Government school land as disposable real estate without full lawful authority, proper approvals, transparent process, and regard for the public purpose for which the land exists.
This case is not merely about FGC Kano. It is about whether public school land across Nigeria can be quietly traded away under opaque PPP arrangements while citizens are told to wait, watch, and keep silent. FGCKOSA will not keep silent. We call on the Honourable Minister of Education, the Federal Ministry of Education, Pluck Global Company Limited, the ICRC, and all public officers involved to stop all activities on the disputed land immediately and allow the court to determine the legality of the transaction.
We call on the Attorney-General of the Federation, now a party to the proceedings, to take a clear institutional position in defence of the rule of law, public interest, and the protection of Federal Government educational assets. No one should treat a Federal Government College as disposable real estate. FGCKOSA remains committed to the rule of law, the protection of public education, and the preservation of Federal Government College Kano for present and future generations.
Aminu Haruna Maipampo
*National Publicity Secretary, FGCKOSA* *Federal Government College Kano Old Students Association, FGCKOSA made it known in a press release issued to media outlets in the state
