{"id":118392,"date":"2025-05-06T15:14:25","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T14:14:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=118392"},"modified":"2025-05-06T15:15:50","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T14:15:50","slug":"seizing-empty-abuja-homes-violates-rights-niesv-warns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/seizing-empty-abuja-homes-violates-rights-niesv-warns\/","title":{"rendered":"Seizing Empty Abuja Homes Violates Rights, NIESV Warns"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>By Daniel Adaji<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) has warned against any move to confiscate vacant houses in Abuja, describing such action as a violation of property rights and a counterproductive response to Nigeria\u2019s housing crisis.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Speaking on Monday at the 2025 International Valuation Day in Abuja, the President and Chairman of the NIESV Council, Victor Alonge, said while the growing attention to the large number of unoccupied homes in urban areas was welcome, forcibly taking over such properties would infringe on citizens\u2019 rights and fail to address the root causes of the housing deficit.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cI\u2019ve heard some government officials say they will confiscate any empty properties they find and allocate them to homeless people. That approach is simply wrong,\u201d Alonge said.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cIf I use my money to buy properties, there\u2019s little the government can do without infringing on people\u2019s rights,\u201d he added.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Estimates suggest there are over 45,000 vacant houses in Abuja alone, even as Nigeria faces a housing deficit of more than 28 million units. This contradiction has sparked public frustration and calls for intervention\u2014especially in upscale areas like Asokoro and Maitama, where luxury homes sit empty while millions of Nigerians live in informal settlements.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Alonge urged the government to adopt a more structured approach, modeled on best practices from developed countries like the United Kingdom.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cIn the UK, for instance, they have a Financial Office Agency that collects data on property assets, determines rental values, and imposes higher taxes on unoccupied properties,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>According to him, taxation and fiscal policies are more effective tools for discouraging property hoarding.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cThere is a strong incentive in using taxation\u2014through reform and restructuring\u2014to encourage property owners not to leave houses empty. That is very, very important,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>He added that most vacant properties are in high-end locations, far beyond the reach of average Nigerians.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cIf you go to Nyanya, you\u2019ll find very few empty homes. But compare that to Asokoro\u2014there are far more vacant properties there. The people who need housing cannot afford to rent in Maitama.\u201d<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Alonge called for a coherent and enforceable national housing policy, noting that past administrations had failed to follow through on their promises.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cWe need a proper national housing policy that addresses short-, medium-, and long-term housing challenges,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>He also cited the UK\u2019s Section 106 Agreement, which requires developers to allocate a portion of new housing projects for key workers such as teachers and nurses\u2014even in affluent neighborhoods.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cIf you go to Chelsea or Knightsbridge in London, you\u2019ll find teachers and nurses living there. Not because they can afford market rates, but because of policy,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The NIESV president emphasised that housing development must serve both economic and social functions.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cDevelopers build to make money, but they must also contribute to the wider social development of the nation,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>He reaffirmed the institution\u2019s readiness to collaborate with the government in shaping effective housing and real estate policies.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cWe are here\u2014as far as housing and real estate policy is concerned\u2014to be partners with the government,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Daniel Adaji The Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) has warned against any move to confiscate vacant houses in Abuja, describing such action as a violation of&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":118395,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-118392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Seizing Empty Abuja Homes Violates Rights, NIESV Warns - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/seizing-empty-abuja-homes-violates-rights-niesv-warns\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Seizing Empty Abuja Homes Violates Rights, NIESV Warns - Pointblank News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Daniel Adaji The Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) has warned against any move to confiscate vacant houses in Abuja, describing such action as a violation of&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/seizing-empty-abuja-homes-violates-rights-niesv-warns\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pointblank News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-06T14:14:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-06T14:15:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/CompressJPEG.online_1280x720_image-2-e1716799813833.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"780\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"439\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Our Reporter\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Our Reporter\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/seizing-empty-abuja-homes-violates-rights-niesv-warns\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/seizing-empty-abuja-homes-violates-rights-niesv-warns\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Our Reporter\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\"},\"headline\":\"Seizing Empty Abuja Homes Violates Rights, NIESV Warns\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-06T14:14:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-06T14:15:50+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/seizing-empty-abuja-homes-violates-rights-niesv-warns\/\"},\"wordCount\":530,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/seizing-empty-abuja-homes-violates-rights-niesv-warns\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/CompressJPEG.online_1280x720_image-2-e1716799813833.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/seizing-empty-abuja-homes-violates-rights-niesv-warns\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/seizing-empty-abuja-homes-violates-rights-niesv-warns\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/seizing-empty-abuja-homes-violates-rights-niesv-warns\/\",\"name\":\"Seizing Empty Abuja Homes Violates Rights, NIESV Warns - Pointblank News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/seizing-empty-abuja-homes-violates-rights-niesv-warns\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/seizing-empty-abuja-homes-violates-rights-niesv-warns\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/CompressJPEG.online_1280x720_image-2-e1716799813833.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-06T14:14:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-06T14:15:50+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/seizing-empty-abuja-homes-violates-rights-niesv-warns\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/seizing-empty-abuja-homes-violates-rights-niesv-warns\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/seizing-empty-abuja-homes-violates-rights-niesv-warns\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/CompressJPEG.online_1280x720_image-2-e1716799813833.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/CompressJPEG.online_1280x720_image-2-e1716799813833.png\",\"width\":780,\"height\":439},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/seizing-empty-abuja-homes-violates-rights-niesv-warns\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Seizing Empty Abuja Homes Violates Rights, NIESV Warns\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/\",\"name\":\"Pointblank News\",\"description\":\"Just the news\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\",\"name\":\"Our Reporter\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Our Reporter\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Seizing Empty Abuja Homes Violates Rights, NIESV Warns - Pointblank News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/seizing-empty-abuja-homes-violates-rights-niesv-warns\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Seizing Empty Abuja Homes Violates Rights, NIESV Warns - Pointblank News","og_description":"By Daniel Adaji The Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) has warned against any move to confiscate vacant houses in Abuja, describing such action as a violation of&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/seizing-empty-abuja-homes-violates-rights-niesv-warns\/","og_site_name":"Pointblank News","article_published_time":"2025-05-06T14:14:25+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-05-06T14:15:50+00:00","og_image":[{"width":780,"height":439,"url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/CompressJPEG.online_1280x720_image-2-e1716799813833.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Our Reporter","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Our Reporter","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/seizing-empty-abuja-homes-violates-rights-niesv-warns\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/seizing-empty-abuja-homes-violates-rights-niesv-warns\/"},"author":{"name":"Our Reporter","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c"},"headline":"Seizing Empty Abuja Homes Violates Rights, NIESV Warns","datePublished":"2025-05-06T14:14:25+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-06T14:15:50+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/seizing-empty-abuja-homes-violates-rights-niesv-warns\/"},"wordCount":530,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/seizing-empty-abuja-homes-violates-rights-niesv-warns\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/CompressJPEG.online_1280x720_image-2-e1716799813833.png","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/seizing-empty-abuja-homes-violates-rights-niesv-warns\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/seizing-empty-abuja-homes-violates-rights-niesv-warns\/","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/seizing-empty-abuja-homes-violates-rights-niesv-warns\/","name":"Seizing Empty Abuja Homes Violates Rights, NIESV Warns - Pointblank News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/seizing-empty-abuja-homes-violates-rights-niesv-warns\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/seizing-empty-abuja-homes-violates-rights-niesv-warns\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/CompressJPEG.online_1280x720_image-2-e1716799813833.png","datePublished":"2025-05-06T14:14:25+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-06T14:15:50+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/seizing-empty-abuja-homes-violates-rights-niesv-warns\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/seizing-empty-abuja-homes-violates-rights-niesv-warns\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/seizing-empty-abuja-homes-violates-rights-niesv-warns\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/CompressJPEG.online_1280x720_image-2-e1716799813833.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/CompressJPEG.online_1280x720_image-2-e1716799813833.png","width":780,"height":439},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/seizing-empty-abuja-homes-violates-rights-niesv-warns\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Seizing Empty Abuja Homes Violates Rights, NIESV Warns"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/","name":"Pointblank News","description":"Just the news","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c","name":"Our Reporter","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Our Reporter"},"url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118392"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118392\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":118394,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118392\/revisions\/118394"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}