Context and background Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory, was designed to embody inclusivity and planned development. However, it has evolved into a city marked by exclusion and inequality over the past four decades. Goal and Objectives: This paper interrogates the crisis of affordable housing in Abuja through the lens of urban justice theory, arguing that current policies and market structures have systematically dispossessed low-income residents of their right to the city. Methodology: The study employs a mixed-method design comprising policy analysis, quantitative data review, and qualitative field interviews. Primary data were gathered from the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), the Family Homes Fund (FHF), and field interviews conducted between January and April 2025. Quantitative data includes housing targets, delivery records and affordability ratios. Qualitative insights were drawn from 42 respondents, including policymakers, developers, and residents. Results: The findings indicate a housing deficit of 1.7 million units in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with a 686 per cent rise in housing prices between 2023 and 2025. More than 58 per cent of respondents earn below ₦200,000 monthly, excluding them from formal mortgage financing. Land allocation practices and speculative development have turned public housing schemes into elite enclaves. This paper concludes that Abuja’s affordable housing crisis reflects a structural failure of justice rather than market inefficiency. The study recommends inclusionary zoning, transit-oriented development, and decentralised land governance as critical reforms for equitable and sustainable housing delivery in Nigeria. This paper contributes to the localisation of urban justice theory in African housing studies and proposes policy directions for equitable housing governance in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory.
Joy Obadoba (Mon,) studied this question.