PRIME NEWS POST
The INDONESIAN (Jakarta)— The Indonesian National Police’s Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim) is confirmed to be heading directly to Kerangan, Labuan Bajo, West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), in April 2026. The visit aims to investigate allegations of forged land title documents, which are suspected to be the primary source of agrarian conflicts and a major barrier to investment in this super-premium tourism area.
The complexity of land rights in Kerangan, Labuan Bajo, continues to unravel layers of interconnected issues. At the center is a claim by Nikolaus Naput over approximately 40 hectares of land, documented in the Sale and Purchase Deed (PPJB) No. 5 of 2014, executed before Notary Billy Yohanes Ginta in Labuan Bajo.
According to Jon Kadis, S.H., from Sukawinaya-88 Law Firm & Partners, the legal counsel representing the family of the late Ibrahin Hanta (IH), the buyer listed in the deed is Santosa Kadiman, who is referred to as the broker for The St. Regis Labuan Bajo Hotel. This statement was made on Thursday (16/4/2026) in Labuan Bajo.
He explained that references to this individual had previously been reported by various local and regional media outlets in NTT, which covered investment activities and land brokerage in the super-priority tourism zone.
The issue, however, is not isolated. From the outset, the land object described in the PPJB was ambiguous. The document only mentions customary land acquired under the name Beatrix Seran Nggebu—without specifying the area—and land belonging to Nasar Bin Haji Supu, which Nikolaus Naput claims to have purchased.
“There are no clear boundaries. No certainty regarding the location. This is the starting point of the ongoing chaos, which has since escalated into legal proceedings,” stated Jon Kadis.
According to him, in a case that has already obtained permanent legal force (inkracht), specifically a series of civil lawsuits regarding land control and ownership in Kerangan which were decided up to the appellate level without further legal recourse, the PPJB was declared null and void by law.
“The reason is simple yet crucial: the land covered by the agreement was already in dispute. Furthermore, it overlaps with land owned by other parties who had previously received official allotment from customary authorities,” Jon Kadis explained.
Overlapping Claims and New Issues Emerge
Despite being declared invalid, new problems have arisen. Several Land Ownership Certificates (SHM) were issued based on the voided PPJB, one of which is SHM No. 02546 under the name Johanis Vans Naput, dated January 31, 2017.
“Ironically, the location of this certificate sits on land cultivated by local residents, complete with huts, coconut trees, jackfruit, teak, and cashew nut trees. These physical facts prove that the land is actively occupied by other parties,” Jon Kadis elaborated.
These findings are further reinforced by an investigation conducted by the Task Force for Land Mafia of the Attorney General’s Office of the Republic of Indonesia through its intelligence division. In Letter No: R.1038/D/Dek/09/2024 dated September 23, 2024, five SHMs under the names of Nikolaus Naput and his children (Nos. 02545, 02549, 02546, 02548, and 02547) were declared invalid due to administrative and juridical defects.
“Essentially, it is clear that the original title deed dated March 10, 1990, covering 16 hectares under the name Nasar Bin Haji Supu, does not exist,” he said.
Even the National Land Agency (BPN) confirmed that the original document was never recorded in their archives.
However, these facts have not stopped the claims. One of Nikolaus Naput’s sons, Johanis Vans Naput, insists on defending his rights by filing a new lawsuit against the parties who won the previous inkracht case in that location.
“Surprisingly, the basis used remains the same: a photocopy of the title deed dated March 10, 1990, whose original has never been found. The complexity deepens when linked to the initial transaction; the 16 hectares were supposedly sold to Santosa Kadiman via the PPJB in January 2014,” he added with astonishment.
New Witness: Yohanes Don Bosco
Jon Kadis pointed out that logically, the rights to the land should have transferred to the buyer. In practice, however, Johanis is suing third parties instead of Santosa Kadiman, the actual buyer in the agreement.
“During the trial, Johanis presented a witness, Yohanes Don Bosco Jagu, whose testimony actually raised new questions,” he said.
The witness stated that Nikolaus’s land originated from the 1990 document, yet admitted to never seeing the original. He also named Ramang Ishaka and Muhamad Syair as the automatic successors of customary authorities who still hold the power to distribute land.
“Whereas, the land distribution was declared complete based on an agreement among traditional leaders on March 1, 2013. The same witness also claimed to be a land administrator appointed by Ishaka for the period 2003–2017,” Jon Kadis clarified.
Meanwhile, a reporting witness with the initials S emphasized that the complexity of the 40-hectare dispute has caused losses to the original landowners, potential investors, and the state. Consequently, S filed a report with Bareskrim regarding allegations of forgery, registered under Police Report Receipt Number: STTL/96/N/2025/BARESKRIM dated February 26, 2026.
“Regarding this report, Bareskrim held a case evaluation on March 12, 2026. This April, Bareskrim will go down to Labuan Bajo to question those who persist in using photocopies—specifically the copy of the March 10, 1990 deed—namely Johanis Vans Naput and other related parties,” S stated on Tuesday (14/4/2026).
From the victim’s legal team perspective, the tangled web is becoming clearer. Jon Kadis stressed that the claims are no longer legally grounded.
“It is true that parties from the families of Nikolaus Naput and Beatrix Seran Nggebu still claim rights over the 40 hectares mentioned in the PPJB. However, they possess no original title documents, a fact that has already been established in other legally binding cases,” said Jon Kadis.
“Furthermore, in his testimony during a corruption case involving 30 hectares of regional government land, Haji Ramang Ishaka mentioned that the land rights for Beatrix Seran and Nikolaus Naput had actually been revoked by his father, Ishaka, in his capacity as a customary authority, way back in 1998,” Jon Kadis continued.
As legal counsel, he hopes Bareskrim will not stop at formal questioning but will trace the case all the way to the masterminds behind the alleged land mafia practices in Labuan Bajo.
“Those who should be summoned and investigated are the parties suspected of fabricating the customary land acquisition document dated March 10, 1990, covering 16 hectares. The original version of this document has never been found,” Jon Kadis revealed.
“This anomaly is also evident from the inclusion of a third party (the buyer) within the document, a structure that is unknown and non-existent in customary law practices,” Jon Kadis concluded.
#Reported from various media sources //photo from Google documents // contribution by Prime News Post international online media // news.paper
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