President Bola 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 properties forfeited to the Federal Government in financial crime cases.
The meeting, held at the State House, Abuja, focused on ensuring greater transparency, accountability and proper utilisation of recovered landed assets, amid the growing portfolio of houses, estates, commercial buildings and large parcels of land now under government control.
The engagement is coming as the administration seeks to move the management of recovered assets beyond mere seizure to a system that preserves their value, prevents deterioration and ensures that properties eventually translate into tangible benefits for Nigerians.
A major focus of the discussion was the 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 estate, comprising duplexes and apartments on more than 150,000 square metres of land, was 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 sprawling property had been linked to former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, whose other properties in Lagos and Delta states have also been subjected to forfeiture proceedings.
The assets linked to the former CBN governor 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; and an industrial complex covering 22 plots in Agbor, Delta State.
Others include a multi-storey development comprising dozens of housing units in the Otunba Elegushi area of Lagos, industrial and warehouse facilities, as well as 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 Federal Government’s portfolio of forfeited properties has continued to expand, with the EFCC securing orders in cases involving prominent former public officials and their associates.
In January, an interim forfeiture order was granted over 57 properties estimated at about N213 billion in proceedings involving former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, his associates, family members and companies.
By July, 48 of the properties, valued at about N180 billion, had been ordered finally forfeited, while nine were released.
The properties, spread across the Federal Capital Territory, Kebbi, Kano and Kaduna states, include residential buildings, hotels, commercial properties, factories and extensive parcels of land.
Among the Abuja properties are a luxury duplex on Amazon Street, Maitama; 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.
Others 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 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, is also among the assets covered by the forfeiture proceedings.
Similarly, the EFCC has 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 has also secured final forfeiture orders over several unclaimed landed assets in Abuja and other parts of the country, including 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 challenge confronting the government.
The EFCC has reported the recovery of more than 1,500 non-monetary assets, predominantly properties, between late 2023 and 2025.
However, the legal status of the properties varies. While some have been finally forfeited to the Federal Government, others remain subject to interim forfeiture orders and could still face claims, appeals or other judicial processes.
Presidency officials say, Tuesday’s meeting is significant for strengthening coordination between the EFCC, which secures forfeiture orders and takes possession of recovered assets, and the Housing Ministry, which possesses the technical capacity to assess, complete, manage and deploy housing assets transferred to government. The Lokogoma estate provides an early model of such collaboration, with the government seeking to transform a property recovered through anti-corruption proceedings into usable housing stock.
The administration is also working towards stronger systems for tracking and managing recovered assets, including the National Central Database of Forfeited Assets.
The objective is to ensure that properties recovered on behalf of the state are properly documented, professionally managed and protected from deterioration, disappearance from government records or eventual return to private hands through opaque processes.
The President’s engagement with the EFCC and Housing Ministry, officials further say, is expected to reinforce the principle that asset recovery does not end with forfeiture, but must culminate in transparent management and productive deployment of recovered wealth for the public good.
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, Olanipekun Olukoyede, and the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Muttaqha Rabe Darma, over the management and disposal of properties forfeited to the Federal Government in financial crime cases.){kind=link}