The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has handed over 27.92 hectares of forfeited land linked to a diverted $65 million housing project to the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) for the construction of 962 housing units.
Speaking during the handover ceremony in Abuja on Tuesday, ICPC Chairman, Dr. Musa Aliyu, SAN, said the land, located along the Kubwa–Dei-Dei Expressway in the Kaba District of the Federal Capital Territory, was returned to FMBN following a final forfeiture order granted by the Federal High Court, Abuja, on December 11, 2025.
Aliyu described the event as a significant milestone in the recovery and restitution of public assets, noting that the two plots—popularly known as the proposed Goodluck Jonathan Estate—comprise Plot No. 5 measuring 122,015.80 square metres and Plot No. 4 measuring 157,198.30 square metres in Cadastral Zone D12.
He explained that the housing project was conceived in 2012 by FMBN at a cost of $65 million and awarded to Good Earth Power Nigeria Limited in partnership with an American firm.
According to him, Ecobank Plc financed the project with a $65 million loan, backed by a partial guarantee and an 18-month repayment tenor, for the construction of 962 housing units on the 27.92-hectare site.
However, Aliyu said the entire loan was diverted without a single housing unit being built.
“The loan was disbursed but completely diverted, with no building constructed.
Some of the funds were channelled through bureaux de change and transferred abroad,” he said.
He noted that the land is equivalent in size to about 39 standard FIFA football pitches, adding that the exchange rate at the time the loan was obtained was N165 to one U.S. dollar.
Aliyu said the ICPC launched both civil and criminal proceedings after uncovering the diversion.
While the civil case has been concluded, the criminal trial is still pending.
He said Justice M. G. Umar of the Federal High Court ordered the final forfeiture of the two plots, describing them as proceeds of unlawful activity, and directed the ICPC to hand them over to FMBN as the victim institution.
The court also directed both the ICPC and FMBN to jointly supervise the construction of the 962 housing units and ensure that the completed homes are allocated to the intended beneficiaries.
Aliyu stressed that asset recovery must extend beyond prosecution to ensuring recovered assets are returned to productive public use.
“It is not enough to investigate corruption, and it is not enough to prosecute it. What was taken must be recovered, and what is recovered must be properly managed and returned to public benefit,” he said.
He warned that allowing recovered assets to remain idle or be mismanaged would undermine public confidence in the anti-corruption fight.
To implement the court’s directive, Aliyu said the ICPC would immediately establish a joint committee with FMBN, with the Commission’s Constituency and Executive Project Tracking Division representing the agency.
The committee, he said, would monitor construction, ensure the houses are delivered to genuine beneficiaries, and promptly report any challenges.
Describing the initiative as a fresh start, Aliyu acknowledged that the original 2012 project had failed and that the redevelopment would proceed as a new project.
FMBN Managing Director, Mr. Shehu Osidi, commended the ICPC for recovering the property and pledged that the bank would move quickly to commence construction.
“We are going to move very swiftly to engage competent and qualified developers to build this estate for the benefit of Nigerians,” Osidi said.
He assured that work would begin without delay and that the project would be executed transparently in line with the Federal Government’s drive to expand affordable home ownership.
Osidi added that the development would support efforts to deepen housing finance, increase the supply of affordable homes and advance the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Housing Agenda.
He noted that the site had remained abandoned for years following the collapse of the original project and disclosed that the new housing units would be allocated primarily to contributors to the National Housing Fund under a new delivery model.
