 |
| Economic and Financial Crimes Commission |
In a development that underscores both the scale of real estate fraud in Nigeria’s commercial capital and the slow but tangible results of anti-graft enforcement, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has formally handed over bank drafts totaling ₦107 million to a victim of a sophisticated property scam in Lagos. The funds represent a partial recovery from a transaction in which the complainant paid more than ₦167 million for land he never took possession of.
The handover took place on 30 September through the victim’s counsel, Senior Advocate of Nigeria Babatunde Oni, at the EFCC’s Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 in Ikoyi. Acting Zonal Director Bawa Usman Kaltungo used the occasion to reaffirm the Commission’s mandate: “to ensure that victims of financial crimes receive justice and that funds linked to fraudulent transactions are recovered and returned to their rightful owners where established.”
RELATED
▶︎ EFCC Reports ₦1.233 Trillion Recovered and 10,872 Convictions in 34 Months Under Olukoyede
How the Deal Unravelled
According to the EFCC’s statement, the victim became interested in a parcel of land at Iya Oloye Crescent, off Ikorodu Road, in October 2024. The property was introduced by one Olalekan Kazeem and another individual referred to as “Alfa.” The asking price was ₦150 million. To handle due diligence and the purchase formalities, the buyer engaged the law firm Bolanle Bamgbose & Associates, whose representatives in the deal included Adeola Ibrahim and the firm’s principal, Bolanle Bamgbose. The purported seller’s representative was identified only as Monsuru, popularly known as “Area.”
Over the course of the transaction the victim disbursed:
• ₦163 million to the law firm
• ₦3 million to the agent Olalekan Kazeem
• ₦1.575 million to a surveyor
Total outlay: ₦167.575 million. After the payments were made, possession proved impossible because of a dispute over the land. Efforts to either secure the property or obtain a refund failed, prompting the petition to the EFCC alleging obtaining money by false pretence, conspiracy and extortion.
Investigators subsequently recovered ₦107 million of the lost funds, which have now been returned. The Commission noted that recovery efforts for the remaining balance continue.
Why Property Fraud Remains Endemic in Lagos
Land and property transactions in Lagos rank among the most fraud-prone commercial activities in Nigeria. Several structural factors explain the persistence of these schemes:
1. Fragmented and opaque title systems – Multiple competing claims, customary ownership overlapping with statutory titles, and incomplete digitisation of land records create fertile ground for forgeries and multiple sales of the same plot.
2. High demand and information asymmetry – Rapid urban expansion and limited supply of well-documented land push buyers into deals facilitated by intermediaries whose incentives are not always aligned with the buyer’s.
3. Professional enablers – The involvement of lawyers, surveyors and agents in this case is not unusual. While many practitioners operate ethically, a minority have been repeatedly implicated in facilitating or shielding fraudulent transactions.
4. Weak enforcement and delayed justice – Civil suits for specific performance or refund can drag on for years; criminal investigations, even when successful, often recover only a portion of the funds.
Data from the EFCC and civil-society trackers consistently show real-estate fraud as one of the top categories of advance-fee and false-pretence cases in the South-West. Victims range from middle-class professionals seeking residential plots to corporate entities and diaspora Nigerians. Losses frequently run into hundreds of millions of naira per case.
The Role of the EFCC and the Limits of Recovery
The Lagos Zonal Directorate’s ability to recover ₦107 million within roughly a year of the alleged offence is relatively swift by Nigerian standards. It demonstrates the value of early petitioning through experienced counsel and the Commission’s use of banking trails, asset tracing and plea or cooperation arrangements with suspects. Nevertheless, full restitution remains the exception rather than the rule. Assets are often dissipated, layered through multiple accounts, or converted into hard-to-trace forms. Civil forfeiture and conviction-based confiscation still face procedural and capacity hurdles.
Kaltungo’s remarks during the handover reflect the Commission’s dual messaging: reassurance to victims that recovery is possible, and a deterrent signal to potential perpetrators that the agency prioritises victim-centred outcomes in financial crime cases.
Broader Implications and Practical Lessons
This episode offers several takeaways for prospective land buyers in Lagos and other high-pressure markets:
• Insist on independent verification of title documents at the Lagos State Lands Registry and, where applicable, the Surveyor-General’s office before any substantial payment.
• Prefer staged payments tied to clear milestones (governor’s consent, perfection of title, physical handover) rather than large upfront transfers to intermediaries.
• Engage counsel who are not also the facilitators of the deal; dual roles create conflicts.
• Document every transfer meticulously and retain evidence of representations made by agents and purported owners.
• Report suspected fraud promptly to the EFCC or the police; delay reduces recovery prospects.
For policymakers, the case reinforces long-standing recommendations: accelerate the digitisation and public accessibility of land records, strengthen professional disciplinary mechanisms for lawyers and surveyors involved in fraudulent deals, and expand specialised commercial courts capable of granting interim asset freezes and restitution orders more efficiently.
Ongoing Efforts
The EFCC has stated that recovery of the outstanding portion of the ₦167.575 million continues. No public information has yet been released on the status of charges against the named individuals—Adeola Ibrahim, Bolanle Bamgbose, Olalekan Kazeem, Monsuru (“Area”) and others. As is typical, the Commission is likely to pursue both criminal prosecution and further asset recovery in parallel.
While the return of ₦107 million provides meaningful relief to one victim, it also serves as a reminder of the systemic vulnerabilities that continue to make property acquisition in Lagos a high-risk endeavour. Until land administration becomes more transparent and professional gatekeepers more reliably accountable, similar stories will keep appearing in the EFCC’s case files.
Samuel O. Sulaimon is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Naijapiz. He covers News, Sports, Finance, Faiths, Education, Technology.
Post a Comment