The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has revealed that a significant number of abandoned estates in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, are owned by corrupt civil servants who used stolen public funds to develop them.
Olukoyede made this disclosure on Wednesday during a policy dialogue on Nigeria’s real estate ecosystem, organised by Law Corridor in Abuja.
He said many of the estates had been deserted for between 10 and 20 years, having been started with illicit funds which dried up once the officials exited public service.
“It will shock you that some of these estates have been abandoned for 10 to 20 years,” Olukoyede said.
“What we’ve discovered is that most of them were funded by civil servants who looted public funds. Once they leave service and the money stops flowing, they abandon the projects.”
The EFCC boss disclosed that the anti-graft agency has established a special task force to begin nationwide inspections of such estates with a view to identifying and prosecuting their true owners.
“I have set up a team. We’ll begin visiting estates, not just in Abuja, but across Nigeria. We want to know who owns what,” he said. “We have already filed for the forfeiture of about 15 estates.”
Olukoyede warned lawyers and property developers against aiding and abetting corrupt individuals in laundering stolen funds through the real estate sector, stressing that those found culpable would be prosecuted.
He added, “Some of you in this room may own some of these properties. We expect to meet you in court very soon because we cannot develop the sector with this kind of fraudulent attitude.”
Also speaking at the event, President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Afam Osigwe, called for a centralised property registry to enhance transparency and ownership verification.
He cautioned that arbitrary revocations of land titles over unpaid ground rents could deter foreign investments in Nigeria’s real estate sector.
Ayokunle Erin, head of the real estate and infrastructure practice at Law Corridor, painted a grim picture of the country’s housing crisis, stating that Nigeria currently has a housing deficit estimated between 17 and 20 million units.
“Meeting this demand requires the construction of about 700,000 housing units annually, yet Abuja only delivered around 5,000 units in 2024 — less than 10 percent of what’s needed,” he said.
Erin blamed the growing deficit on policy failures, regulatory lapses, and legal ambiguities which, he said, have emboldened fraudsters and unlicensed real estate agents.
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