Operators in Nigeria’s housing and real estate sectors have thrown their weight behind the recent revelation by the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, who disclosed that most luxury properties in highbrow areas of Abuja such as Asokoro and Maitama are not owned by politicians, but by civil servants.
This position was strongly supported by the President of the Association of Housing Corporations of Nigeria (AHCN), Mr. Eno Obongha, who told reporters that while every citizen has the right to own property, it must be done within the bounds of the law.
According to Obongha, the findings shared by the EFCC are informed, credible, and backed by documented investigations. He pointed out that three separate probes into a particular ministry had initially suggested that ₦33.7 billion was missing, but after a forensic audit, only ₦3 billion was traced to a former minister, while a shocking ₦30.7 billion was linked to top civil servants — including directors of finance, procurement, and administration.
“Let us be clear — a crime is a crime, whether it is committed in the dark or in daylight. Whether by a politician or a career civil servant, fraud must be exposed and punished,” Obongha said.
He stressed the need to promote legal home ownership through well-structured mortgage systems rather than outright cash purchases that raise red flags. “We need to change the housing culture that demands millions of naira upfront for a house. This system encourages illicit funds and makes it difficult for honest Nigerians to own homes,” he added.
The EFCC chairman had, in an interview shared via his verified X (formerly Twitter) handle, dropped a bombshell: the civil service, not the political class, harbours Nigeria’s most entrenched and wealthiest corrupt actors.
“Statistics have shown, and we have evidence to prove, that most houses in Asokoro and Maitama are owned by civil servants,” Olukoyede said. He described the situation as alarming, noting that civil servants, whose legitimate earnings cannot explain their ownership of such luxury properties, have become the real masterminds behind grand-scale corruption in Nigeria.
He explained that most funds looted from the public purse are laundered through real estate investments, children’s bank accounts, and proxies, making them harder to trace but not impossible to uncover.
Jeremiah Akinsele, Chief Executive Officer of Magnificent Choice Services Project and Engineering Ltd, echoed similar concerns. He questioned why civil servants with modest paychecks could afford multi-million-naira properties without scrutiny.
“My main concern is the broken system. Ministers cannot misappropriate funds alone. They work with permanent secretaries, procurement officers, and directors. These civil servants have become too powerful and largely unaccountable,” Akinsele said.
He further pointed to the lack of proper documentation and property registration systems as major hindrances in the fight against corruption. “Many properties are listed using only numbers, not names. It becomes difficult to trace ownership, and this has become a key method for laundering public funds,” he explained.
According to Akinsele, such gaps in regulation and oversight are why Nigeria continues to struggle with systemic corruption, particularly in the real estate sector.
Olukoyede added that in several EFCC cases, suspects admitted ownership of questionable funds and properties after being confronted with solid evidence. “They didn’t deny it. If they had tried to blame the minister, we would have considered them accomplices. But they confessed — because the evidence was overwhelming,” he said.
The EFCC boss warned that Nigeria cannot continue to focus only on corrupt politicians while ignoring the ‘shadow government’ within the civil service. He said career bureaucrats have turned the public sector into a personal revenue stream, adding that they often outlast administrations and remain untouchable.
He concluded by noting that the EFCC is intensifying efforts to trace stolen wealth, investigate property deals, and expose both public and private sector collaborators in the corruption chain.
