President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday met with the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Olanipekun Olukoyede, and the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Muttaqha Rabe Darma, over the management and disposal of houses and other landed assets seized by the anti-graft agency across the country.
The meeting, held at the State House, Abuja, focused on ensuring that forfeited properties are managed and disposed of under clear rules of transparency and accountability, particularly as the Federal Government seeks to put recovered assets to productive public use.
The engagement came against the backdrop of a growing portfolio of landed properties secured by the EFCC through interim and final forfeiture orders in corruption and financial crime cases.
It also highlighted the administration’s increasing emphasis on moving beyond the recovery of assets to their proper management, completion where necessary, allocation or disposal in a manner that preserves their value and delivers benefits to the public.
One of the most significant landed assets currently under government management is a 753-unit housing estate at Plot 109, Cadastral Zone C09, Lokogoma District, Abuja, which was finally forfeited to the Federal Government in December 2024.
The sprawling estate, comprising duplexes and apartments on more than 150,000 square metres of land, was subsequently handed over by the EFCC to the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development in May 2025 for completion and deployment for public benefit.
The estate had been linked to former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele. NigerianHealth News
Other landed assets linked to the former CBN governor and subjected to forfeiture proceedings include properties in Lagos and Delta states.
They include duplexes and apartments in Lekki Phase 1 and Ikoyi, undeveloped land and a bungalow around Queens Drive, Ikoyi, properties on Probyn Road and Adekunle Lawal Road, as well as an industrial complex covering 22 plots in Agbor, Delta State.
Other assets include a multi-storey development comprising dozens of housing units in the Otunba Elegushi area of Lagos, industrial and warehouse properties, and other plots and estates in Lekki, Ikoyi and Amuwo-Odofin.
The Supreme Court in 2026 also affirmed the forfeiture of seven landed properties linked to Emefiele, alongside monetary and other assets.
The portfolio of forfeited landed assets has expanded further this year following proceedings involving former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, his associates, family members and companies.
An interim forfeiture order covering 57 properties estimated at about ₦213 billion was granted in January, with 48 of the properties, valued at about ₦180 billion, subsequently ordered finally forfeited in July, while nine were released.
The landed assets are spread across the Federal Capital Territory, Kebbi, Kano and Kaduna states and include residential buildings, hotels, commercial properties, factories and substantial parcels of land.
Among them are a luxury duplex on Amazon Street, Maitama, Abuja; a two-winged storey building formerly occupied by Harmonia Hotels on Onitsha Crescent, Area 11, Garki; and a five-storey, 53-room hotel building in Jabi District.
Other Abuja properties include a 15-room hotel on Rhine Street, Maitama; properties and terraces in Asokoro; residential buildings in Gwarimpa, BUA Estate, Apo Legislative Quarters, Wuse II and Karsana; and commercial developments in Wuse II and other parts of the capital.
The forfeited portfolio also includes residential and hospitality properties in Kano, while the Kebbi assets comprise extensive landed developments, buildings associated with agro-allied and hospitality businesses and large parcels of land, including more than 100 hectares along the Birnin Kebbi-Jega Road.
A residential property in Abakpa GRA, Kaduna, was also among the assets covered by the forfeiture proceedings.
The EFCC has also obtained an interim forfeiture order over nine high-value Abuja properties linked to former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva.
The properties include terraces in Dakibiyu, duplexes and office complexes in different parts of Abuja, blocks of flats in Wuse and Garki, as well as buildings in Maitama and Mpape.
In another case, 52 terrace and maisonette housing units at Mercyville Estate, Covenant Way, Ilasan, Lekki, Lagos, were finally forfeited in July 2026.
The anti-graft agency had earlier secured final forfeiture of several unclaimed landed assets spread across Abuja and some states.
They included residential and commercial properties in Karsana, Dakibiyu and Guzape in the FCT, as well as properties and land in Borno, Nasarawa and Niger states.
Available figures indicate the scale of the asset-management challenge before the Federal Government, with the EFCC reporting the recovery of more than 1,500 non-monetary assets, predominantly properties, over the period covering late 2023 to 2025.
The status of the properties, however, differs from case to case. While some have been finally forfeited to the Federal Government, others remain under interim forfeiture orders and may still be subject to claims, appeals or other judicial processes.
Tuesday’s meeting is therefore expected to strengthen coordination between the EFCC, which secures forfeiture orders and takes possession of recovered assets, and the Housing Ministry, which has the technical capacity to assess, complete, manage or deploy housing assets transferred to the government.
The administration has already demonstrated the model with the transfer of the 753-unit Lokogoma estate to the Housing Ministry, turning an asset recovered through anti-corruption proceedings into housing stock that can eventually be put to public use.
The Tinubu administration has also been developing mechanisms for improved tracking and management of recovered assets, including the National Central Database of Forfeited Assets, as part of efforts to ensure that properties recovered on behalf of the state are properly documented and do not deteriorate, disappear from government records or return to private hands through opaque processes.
