The Federal Government has concluded plans to sell a sprawling estate linked to a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, to low and middle-income Nigerians.
The massive property, comprising 753 housing units, was recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in December 2024.
According to the EFCC, it is the largest single asset recovery since the agency’s inception in 2003. It covers over 150,000 square metres and includes duplexes and other apartment types.
The estate was recovered following a final forfeiture order issued on December 2, 2024, by Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja.
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Court documents filed by the EFCC and obtained by our correspondent linked the property to Emefiele.
In April 2025, Emefiele approached an FCT High Court in a bid to reclaim the estate, which had already been forfeited to the government.
He accused the EFCC of deliberately concealing the forfeiture proceedings from him, despite frequent interactions with the agency regarding other pending charges.
His application was, however, dismissed by the court.
The EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, officially handed over the 753 housing units to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa.
Speaking with Saturday PUNCH, the Director of Press and Public Relations at the Ministry of Housing, Badamasi Haiba, said the government, in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, would ensure that ordinary Nigerians benefitted.
He noted that the estate was still under construction, and the ministry would first conduct structural and integrity assessments before deciding on the modalities of sale and allocation.
“Next would be to profile the houses and decide how they will be sold to Nigerians. However, the intention of the minister has always been homeownership for all categories of Nigerians, including low and middle-income earners – so we should expect to see such intentions play out here, all-inclusive,” Haiba added.
On the mode of selling, he said the ministry’s portal would be used, promising that the payment options would be flexible.
He said, “Homes sold by the ministry will always have flexible payment options, including mortgage, instalment, rent-to-own payment, etc., whether in this case or any other.
“These are just 753 units. The ministry has over 10,000 houses nearing completion nationwide under the Renewed Hope Housing Programme.
“The ministry has a web portal developed where sales of these houses are done – renewedhopehomes.fmhud.gov.ng. The minister has already stated that the same process will be adopted in selling these confiscated houses.”
When asked about the date the portal would be opened for interested Nigerians, he said, “The Housing Ministry will first complete the houses. Construction was ongoing before the recovery by the EFCC.”
He dismissed speculations that the houses would be allocated to those in power.
Haiba said, “People will always speculate, maybe due to experiences from years ago. The present Renewed Hope administration is doing something different in promoting transparency and accountability.
“I can only tell you what the ministry is doing. With the renewedhopehomes.fmhud.gov.ng portal, the ministry has cut off human interference to ensure that the sales process is transparent and all-inclusive.
“Any Nigerian can sit in their home, log onto the portal, browse through the different types of units and locations, select the house they want, select a payment option, submit their application, and get an offer letter right there and then.”
Estate overtaken by reptiles
A visit to the site by Saturday PUNCH revealed that the once-bustling construction site had fallen into disuse and neglect, with bushes encroaching on the uncompleted duplexes.
Overgrown bushes and reptiles, including snakes, have taken over a high-end residential estate in the Lokogoma area of Abuja.
Although security operatives guarding the property denied our correspondent access, a view from outside showed a site overtaken by thick foliage.
Also, another entrance had been covered by bushes.
Two security guards at adjacent estates said they had killed snakes that strayed into their compounds from the abandoned estate.
“When construction was ongoing here, there were nothing like snakes. But since they stopped work, snakes have been coming from that bushy estate. We’ve killed many,” they said.
The guards recalled that work on the estate abruptly stopped in July 2023.
“I am very sure they must have paid for everything needed to complete the construction before stopping. Everything moved at lightning speed. We never saw Emefiele in person, but we knew someone with serious money was behind it,” one of them said.
A check by our correspondent showed that Emefiele’s troubles began in June 2023, when he was arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services in Lagos and flown to Abuja.
Going by the comments of the guards, work stopped on the construction of the duplexes a month after the former CBN governor was arrested by the DSS.
A tour of the estate from outside showed it was completely fenced with a mix of concrete and block structures.
Also, at least two of the duplexes appear completed, while others have reached various stages of development, including plumbing and carpentry works.
Saturday PUNCH further observed that the estate sits among at least five other high-value properties in the Lokogoma axis, further highlighting the prime nature of the seized asset.
Real estate experts doubt plan
A former President, Association of Town Planning Consultants of Nigeria, Mr Moses Ogunleye, doubted the possibility of low-income earners benefitting from the houses.
He said, “If those properties have four bedrooms, I don’t think they can be for low-income earners. Is the Federal Government going to finish those structures before it sell them? If they are going to do so, low-income earners will not be able to afford them. If they want to give them to low-income earners as they are, the buyers are going to be spending a lot of money.
“Maybe what they can do, in addition to the structural integrity test, is a cost analysis. I am not sure the roads have been done, or if water supply and electricity have been provided. What will make the estate habitable? Considering the value of land in that place, we can have an affordable housing development in that location, but it is not going to be a public support housing project. The total cost of completing it is going to be too expensive for low-income earners. I would say maybe middle-income earners may be able to afford it, but no real low-income earner would be able to.”
THE PUNCH
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