The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has revealed that many abandoned estates across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, are allegedly owned by civil servants who funded them with stolen public funds.
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Speaking on Wednesday at a Policy Dialogue on the Critical Issues Affecting Nigeria’s Real Estate Ecosystem organized by Law Corridor, Olukoyede said investigations by the anti-graft agency have uncovered troubling patterns of real estate-linked corruption in the public sector. He disclosed that some of the estates in question have been abandoned for over 10 to 20 years.
“I have set up the team. We will start visiting all the estates, not only in Abuja but across Nigeria. We want to know who owns what,” Olukoyede said.
According to him, many of the estates were initiated while the owners were in public service but were abandoned once illicit funds dried up after their exit from office. He noted that developers are often left stranded, seeking investors to revive the stalled projects.
“What we have gathered is that most of these estates were funded by civil servants who had stolen money. The moment they leave public service and the money stops flowing, they abandon the estate,” he explained.
The EFCC boss warned that the Commission has already filed for the forfeiture of at least 15 such properties and plans to initiate further legal actions as more intelligence becomes available.
“Some of you sitting in this room, probably some of those estates belong to you. But very soon, we are expecting to also meet you in court,” he declared, warning legal practitioners and real estate developers against aiding money laundering schemes.
Olukoyede further called on lawyers, bankers, and private sector stakeholders to resist being used as conduits for illicit financial flows. “Don’t let anybody hide under you and do money laundering. We are going to expose you. We are going to fish you out and bust the racket,” he said.
While lamenting the high rate of corruption in the civil service, the EFCC Chairman questioned how a Level 17 officer, with a salary below ₦1 million, could afford a ₦500 million mansion. “Yet, nobody asks questions,” he added, calling for a credit-driven economy to replace Nigeria’s predominantly cash-based transaction culture.
“Everything you do in Nigeria car, house, suit is cash. We can’t build an economy that way,” he said.
Olukoyede also addressed the inconsistencies in the banking sector, revealing that some banks had been taken over by the EFCC this year over shady transactions, while others maintained impeccable compliance records. “There are banks with clean books, and there are others we’ve had to investigate for stashing $10 million without documentation,” he stated.
On his part, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, called for a centralized verification system for property ownership. He also warned that arbitrary revocation of land rights over unpaid ground rent could deter foreign investment in the real estate sector.
Earlier in the event, Ayokunle Erin, Practice Group Lead for Real Estate, Construction, and Infrastructure at Law Corridor, highlighted Nigeria’s staggering housing deficit—estimated at between 17 to 20 million units. He noted that Abuja only delivered about 5,000 housing units in 2024, meeting less than 10% of its demand.
“These gaps reflect deep-rooted policy failures, regulatory lapses, and legal ambiguities that continue to embolden fraudsters, quacks, and unlicensed agents,” Erin said.
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