…the EFCC has formed a special team that will begin visiting real estate developments across the country.
ABUJA, NIGERIA – The iNews Times| In a renewed drive to curb corruption and plug loopholes in Nigeria’s financial system, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has turned its spotlight on the real estate sector, which it says has become a fertile ground for the laundering and concealment of stolen public funds.
The EFCC’s Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, disclosed that many of the luxury estates scattered across the country, particularly those abandoned or left uncompleted, are being funded with looted public money, especially by civil servants who exploit weak regulatory frameworks to hide illicit wealth in physical assets.
The EFCC boss, made these revelations while speaking in Abuja at a policy dialogue on critical issues affecting Nigeria’s real estate ecosystem, hosted by the Abuja-based law firm, The Law Corridor. The event brought together key legal and regulatory stakeholders to examine the real estate sector’s exposure to fraudulent practices.
“What we have been able to find out is that most of these estates are funded by civil servants who have stolen money,” Olukoyede stated.
According to him, investigations have already commenced into how numerous housing estates in Nigeria came into existence and who exactly owns them. In a major policy shift, the EFCC has formed a special team that will begin visiting real estate developments across the country, from Abuja to Lagos, Port Harcourt, and beyond, to uncover hidden ownership structures.
The EFCC boss said it was shocking to discover that many estates have been left abandoned for up to two decades, typically when the illicit funds used to start them dried up after the civil servants left public service or lost access to corrupt channels.
“They just take the construction to a certain level and abandon it, and nobody knows what is going on,” he explained. “The moment they leave public service and the money is no longer coming, they abandon the estates.”
Olukoyede confirmed that the EFCC had already obtained interim forfeiture orders for 15 such properties and warned that many more would follow.
He emphasized the urgent need to activate the Beneficial Ownership Register, which would enable authorities to trace the real individuals behind shell companies and hidden investments in real estate, a critical step in enhancing transparency and deterring illicit activity.
The EFCC chairman painted a troubling picture of how the real estate industry is being exploited as a cash sink for laundered money, noting that legitimate developers face extreme difficulty accessing affordable credit for housing projects.
“There is no one who will go to any bank in Nigeria today and borrow money to invest in real estate and make a profit. If you take a loan at over 30% interest, how do you survive?” he asked.
Because of this, Olukoyede argued, real estate becomes the go-to sector for corrupt individuals who have illicit funds to clean. He called for the establishment of government-backed funding pools to offer single-digit interest rates to honest developers through institutions like the Federal Mortgage Bank and Aso Savings and Loans.
He also urged Nigerians to move away from the cash-heavy culture that allows corruption to thrive.
“A thousand EFCCs will not be able to scratch the surface of our corruption problem if we continue with our cash-based economy,” Olukoyede lamented. “You want to buy a car, it is cash. You want a house, it is cash. Everything is cash. We can’t build an economy that way.”
He revealed that in the course of investigations, many corrupt individuals admitted to looting public funds because of societal and family pressure, particularly to pay for private education, medical bills, or maintain a false lifestyle.
“Some will come to you and say: ‘Yes, I did it. There is no other way to pay my children’s school fees… Please, I am at your mercy.’ At that point, the investigator becomes helpless,” he added.
Joining Olukoyede at the dialogue were Mazi Afam Osigwe (SAN), President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), and Dr. Adebowale Adedokun, Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP). Both men echoed the EFCC chairman’s concerns and called for a complete overhaul of Nigeria’s archaic land administration system.
Osigwe criticized the outdated property verification process, stating that in Nigeria, unlike in developed countries, you cannot simply verify ownership of a property online or through a centralized registry.
“I can sit here and, with the payment of a small fee, confirm the ownership of a property in the United Kingdom. But I can’t do that here. We must tell ourselves the present system is not working and cannot work,” he declared.
He pushed for the deployment of technology and digitization of land records to foster transparency, reduce fraud, and encourage confidence in the real estate industry.
Adedokun of the BPP added that public procurement is often manipulated to divert funds, which are then funneled into the real estate sector. He highlighted the link between over-inflated contracts and unregulated property development.
“That difference between the actual cost of a project and the inflated amount is what leads to people having excess funds to launder,” he explained. “And because the real estate sector is poorly regulated, they use it as a safe haven.”
He revealed that the BPP, in collaboration with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), is working on systems to track public projects and measure them against actual performance to prevent diversion of public funds.
The policy dialogue also examined other key issues, such as:
Tackling fake property developers and agents
Strengthening investment compliance mechanisms
Providing accessible legal remedies for victims of property scams
Speakers stressed that until Nigeria revamps its regulatory frameworks, digitizes land registries, and enforces strict compliance in the property market, real estate will continue to serve as a black hole for public wealth.
The EFCC chairman concluded by urging developers to conduct proper client due diligence and avoid getting entangled in investigations. He reminded participants that ignorance of the source of funds used by clients is no longer a valid legal defense.
“We are not out to destroy legitimate developers,” he said. “But we must sanitise this space. The real estate sector cannot continue to be a cover for crime
