By Isaac Atunlute
At first glance, the mansions lining the edges of Ibadan’s new estates glimmer with the promise of prosperity—high fences, tinted windows, polished marble floors.
But beneath the shine lies a disturbing truth—many of these houses serve as silent vaults for Nigeria’s stolen wealth.
In a country where looted public funds often find sanctuary in luxury real estate and undeclared assets, Oyo State is taking a strategic step to reverse the trend.
A new partnership between the state’s anti-corruption agency and the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, or NIESV, aims to disrupt the use of real estate as a conduit for money laundering.
Unveiled on Wednesday, this strategy represents a shift from reactive enforcement to proactive prevention in the fight against corruption.
A strategic alliance
The collaboration is designed to establish systems for asset tracing, valuation and ethical management of property. By doing so, the state is preventing stolen money from being laundered through the property market, a method that had long eluded scrutiny.
At the heart of the partnership is a shared framework to identify, verify, and manage assets linked to corruption.
Surveyors will provide technical expertise in evaluating and disposing of forfeited properties. They will also flag suspicious transactions, enabling real-time accountability not only in courts but also in property markets where stolen wealth is often buried.
The anti-corruption agency reports that it’s pursued more than 300 cases so far, most involving misappropriation of public money.
Yet, officials admit that recovery alone isn’t enough. Without regulations on how stolen funds are reinvested, corruption often resurfaces—this time in the form of opulent homes and untraceable assets.
This is where estate professionals come in, as frontline allies in governance.
A widespread problem
Oyo State’s strategy is not operating in isolation. in Lagos, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, or EFCC, has flagged the real-estate market as the primary channel for laundering criminal proceeds.
It has urged tighter Know Your Customer, or KYC, measures for developers and estate managers to close existing loopholes.
In 2022, the Special Control Unit against Money Laundering, or SCUML, mandated that real-estate players register and report suspected transactions under the money laundering act. But enforcement has been lax, expecially outside urban areas.
What makes Oyo’s model distinctive is its grassroots, locally driven strategy.. Rather than wait for federal directives, the state is leveraging existing institutions to plug regulatory gaps from within.
Estate valuers have also been turned into watchdogs, as they’re being positioned as partners in governance.
Experts have long argued that regulating real estate is crucial to curbing public sector corruption.
An investigative report by the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, or CISLAC, found that the real estate sector is one of the most exploited conduits for the laundering of illegal wealth in Nigeria.
The report found that most of the recovered stolen money ended up in property investment, with most of it having been purchased through proxy buyers, anonymous trusts, or shell companies.
This lack of transparency, combined with weak enforcement of ownership disclosure laws, allows political figures and corrupt actors to convert stolen public funds into high-value real estate assets with minimal scrutiny.
Without checks on ownership verification or asset tracking, the cycle often goes unchecked.
While this state-level partnership is still in its early stage, it signals a growing awareness that corruption cannot be fought in the courtroom alone.
Real impact demands systemic thinking, binding professionals, institutions, and policies together in ways that eliminate the structural incentives and opportunities for corrupt gains.
If other states adopt similar frameworks, Nigeria’s property market, once considered a major loophole in the anti-corruption war, could transform into a key pillar of transparency and integrity.
More important, it could signal the beginning of a new era: one where looted money can no longer be used to buy bricks, mortar, and even silence.
Oyo State in Nigeria is taking a proactive approach to combat corruption by partnering with the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV). This collaboration aims to tackle the laundering of stolen public funds through real estate by establishing systems for asset tracing, valuation, and ethical management of property. The initiative involves surveyors providing technical expertise and flagging suspicious transactions to prevent the property market from being used as a conduit for illicit financial activities.
This state-level strategy is unique as it is driven locally, leveraging existing institutions to fill regulatory gaps without waiting for federal directives. The move positions estate professionals as key allies in governance and highlights the critical role of real estate regulation in curbing public sector corruption. The approach is seen as part of a broader effort where various states could transform Nigeria's property market, once a significant loophole in anti-corruption efforts, into a model of transparency and integrity.
