Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), an anti-corruption agency similar to the FBI, announced its largest asset recovery on Monday. A court ordered the forfeiture of a massive multifamily housing complex in Abuja, the nation’s capital, as part of an ongoing corruption investigation.
The complex, spanning 150,500 square meters and containing 753 duplexes and apartments, is located in the Lokogoma district. Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie granted the final forfeiture ruling after issuing an initial order on November 1, 2024.
In a statement, EFCC spokesman Dele Oyewale described the property as “the single largest asset recovery by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission since its inception in 2003.” The owner of the housing complex, identified only as a former senior government official, is currently under investigation.
According to Oyewale, the forfeiture was secured under Nigeria’s anti-fraud laws, including the Advance Fee Fraud Act and the 1999 Constitution. Justice Onwuegbuzie ruled that the unnamed official had failed to prove the property was acquired legitimately. He declared, “The property is hereby finally forfeited to the federal government.”
—Ezinwanne Onwuka reports for TruthNigeria from Abuja.
