The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on President Bola Tinubu to restrain the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, from proceeding with plans to shut down 34 foreign embassies in Abuja over unpaid ground rents.

In a statement shared on its official X (formerly Twitter) account, SERAP warned that any attempt to close diplomatic missions would contravene international diplomatic laws, particularly Article 22 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which guarantees the inviolability of embassies and diplomatic premises.

Minister Wike had threatened to revoke 4,794 land titles and shut down embassies and other properties that owe ground rents dating as far back as 2014. According to the FCT Administration, foreign missions collectively owe over ?3.6 billion.

President Tinubu had intervened on May 26, granting a 14-day grace period for embassies and other property owners to settle their outstanding rents. That grace period expired on Monday, June 9, sparking concerns that enforcement could begin as early as Tuesday.

SERAP stated, ?President Tinubu should urgently caution and direct the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, to immediately withdraw the threat to close down 34 embassies in Abuja. The purported threat is contrary to the provisions of Article 22 of the Vienna Convention.?

Under the Convention, embassies enjoy full protection from search, requisition, attachment, or execution by host nations. Paragraph 1 of Article 22 provides that ?the premises of the mission shall be inviolable,? while Paragraph 3 states that all embassy property and transport means are immune from seizure or enforcement actions.

While some missions, such as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and NAPTIP, have reportedly cleared their arrears, several embassies pushed back against Wike?s claims.

The Russian Embassy denied owing rent and said it possesses full documentation of payments made. Similarly, officials of the Turkish and German embassies insisted they had not received any formal notifications and described their inclusion on the list of defaulters as a possible bureaucratic error.

Other embassies named among the defaulters include Ghana, C?te d?Ivoire, Thailand, the Philippines, Congo, Venezuela, South Korea, Trinidad and Tobago, Zambia, Iraq, the Netherlands, Ireland, Uganda, Sudan, Kenya, South Africa, Egypt, Tanzania, Saudi Arabia, and Guinea.

The FCT Administration has reportedly imposed penalty fees of ?2 million and ?3 million, depending on location, according to its Director of Land, Chijioke Nwankwoeze.

As the deadline lapses, diplomatic and legal experts warn that any enforcement action without due consultation could result in diplomatic fallout and violation of international obligations. (The Guardian)

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