EFCC hands 753-unit recovered Abuja estate to housing ministry

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has handed over the recovered 753 housing units traced to former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele in Abuja to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, the anti-graft agency said in a statement on Tuesday.

Recall that, The sprawling 150,500-square-metre estate on Plot 109, Cadastral Zone C09, Lokogoma District, Abuja, officially became federal property last December following a court-ordered final forfeiture.

A statement by the EFCC’s spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, on Tuesday, said the commission’s Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, formally transferred the property during a brief ceremony at the headquarters of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development in Abuja on Tuesday.

Mr Oyewale said the estate comprises duplexes and other apartment units recovered with the backing of a final forfeiture order given on 2 December 2024 by the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The court had earlier granted an interim forfeiture order on 1 November 2024.

Speaking during the handover of the keys to Ahmed Dangiwa, the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Mr Olukoyede reaffirmed the EFCC’s commitment to transparent and accountable asset recovery.

He stressed that recovered assets would be repurposed for public benefit.

“This gesture is to demonstrate to Nigerians that whatever proceeds of crime that we have recovered in the course of our work, the application of that will be made transparent to Nigerians so that we will not allow looted assets to be looted again,” he said.

He emphasised that asset recovery is central to EFCC’s anti-corruption strategy.

“One of the key factors that actually propels the impact of the fight is the need for us to ensure that those who have stolen our commonwealth are not allowed to enjoy the proceeds of crime.

“So one of the critical factors of our works is that we deprive them of the proceeds of crimes,” he added.

Mr Olukoyede commended President Bola Tinubu’s stance on anti-corruption. He described the handover as a sign of the administration’s resolve to combat financial crimes.

A statement by the Director, Press and Public Relations, Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Salisu Haiba, confirmed that the property was handed over by EFCC at the ministry’s headquarters in Mabushi, Abuja.

Receiving the keys to the estate, the minister, Mr Dangiwa, praised the EFCC for what he called a “significant milestone” in the collective effort to fight corruption.

Mr Dangiwa added, “The Ministry will offer the units for sale both to the public and for special government needs. For the public sale component, we will adopt a transparent and competitive process. This will include nationwide advertisement and the use of the Renewed Hope Portal where interested Nigerians can submit their Expressions of Interest.”

He added that the ministry would carry out a joint inspection of the estate with the EFCC to assess its structural condition.