Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Olanipekun Olukoyede, has revealed that many abandoned estates scattered across Abuja are owned by civil servants who allegedly used stolen public funds to finance them.
Speaking on Wednesday, August 6, at a “Policy Dialogue on the Critical Issues Affecting Nigeria’s Real Estate Ecosystem” organised by Law Corridor, Olukoyede said several of these estates have been left incomplete and unattended for over a decade.
“I have set up the team. We will start visiting all the estates, not only Abuja but across Nigeria. We want to know who owns what,” he said.
He added, “It will shock you that some of these estates have been abandoned for 10 to 20 years. They just take it to a level and they abandon it. Nobody knows what is going on.”
According to the EFCC chairman, investigations show that many of these projects were funded by civil servants who abandoned them after leaving office.
“What we have been able to gather is that most of these estates were funded by civil servants who have stolen money.
“The moment they leave public service and the money is no longer coming, they abandon the estate. Then, the developer will start looking for investors to support them to complete the project,” he said.
Olukoyede disclosed that the EFCC had filed for forfeiture of at least 15 such estates and warned professionals in the legal and property sector not to enable money laundering activities.
“Some of you sitting in this room, probably some of those estates belong to you. But very soon, we are expecting to also meet you in court because there is no way we will develop this sector if we continue with that attitude,” he warned.
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He stressed the need for banks and developers to avoid being used as fronts for illicit financial flows.
“Don’t let anybody hide under you and do money laundering. We are going to expose you. We are going to fish you out and bust the racket,” he said.
Lamenting Nigeria’s cash-based culture, the EFCC chairman questioned how public officials on modest salaries could afford luxury homes.
“Look at countries where things work. Here, you buy your cars–cash, you build your house, everything, cash. Everything you do in Nigeria, cash.
“You buy your suit, cash. I mean, come on! We can’t build an economy that way, we can’t!” he exclaimed.
Olukoyede also commended some financial institutions for maintaining clean operations.
“There are banks that compliance is topmost in their operations, that we have never had a cause to investigate,” he said.
However, he noted that some other banks have been implicated in shady dealings.
“There are banks that you investigate, you see $10m deposited in the vault. No documentation, nothing,” he said.
He urged all stakeholders to do things properly, warning that fraud-driven ventures were ultimately unsustainable.
“When you do it right at the beginning, the end will be right. But when you build your business on fraud, at the end of the day, you will not survive,” Olukoyede stated.