Diaspora Investors Cry Foul as $250m Lagos Estate Demolished

A prominent real estate investor, Stella Okengwu, has condemned the demolition of WinHomes Global Estate, a development valued at $250 million, in Lagos. Okengwu, who has been leading efforts to encourage investment from Nigerians in the diaspora, accused the Minister of Works, David Umahi, of orchestrating a targeted demolition that has affected dozens of diaspora-based property owners.

Speaking at a press briefing in Lagos on Wednesday, Okengwudetailed how the destruction of the estate, which was ordered on October 5, 2024, had devastated investors, many of whom had contributed significant foreign capital to Nigeria’s economy. “This world press conference intends to expose the falsehoods surrounding this issue and lay bare the facts behind the illegal coastal road alignment and diversion from the 2006 gazettedplan approved under the then Lagos State Governor, now President Bola Tinubu,” she said.

The demolition, according to Okengwu, was a violation of a previously agreed alignment for a coastal road project and undermines the government’s push for diaspora involvement in national development. She emphasised that following Tinubu’sMay 2023 inauguration, his administration had actively encouraged Nigerians abroad to invest back home, a call she and her partners were eager to heed.

“As a real estate investor, along with my partners, Femi Adekoya and Olawale Oluwa of Pelle Homes, we were determined to support the President’s economic agenda. We acquired a substantial tract of land to contribute to Nigeria’s growth,” she said, lamenting that “recent actions by the Minister of Works have cast a shadow over these efforts.”

Diasporan investors who had sunk millions of dollars into the project expressed their outrage at the loss of their properties in Lagos’s Okun Ajah district. Okengwu called for urgent intervention from President Tinubu and a thorough investigation into alleged corruption within the Ministry of Works.

She stated, “Through WinHomes Investment Scheme, 70 per cent of subscribers were diasporans. The project had attracted significant foreign direct investment, yet all this was destroyed, with no prior notice, violating the 2006 coastal road alignment.” Okengwu accused the Ministry of Works of illegally diverting the road alignment for ulterior motives, leading to the destruction of properties, despite investors having all necessary legal documentation, including a certificate of occupancy and governor’s consent.

Okengwu further alleged that corruption within the ministry had played a role in the demolition, suggesting that residents in neighbouring Ocean Bay had paid officials to have their properties spared. “We were blindsided by the demolition,” she said, urging President Tinubu to restore the original road alignment and order an investigation into the actions of the Ministry of Works.

When contacted, the Minister of Works’ spokesperson, Orji Orji, dismissed the allegations. “Such complaints should be officially channelled for appropriate response. We can’t react on nothing,” he told reporters.

The controversy comes as the Okun Ajah community has also raised alarms about the Ministry of Works allegedly diverting the Lagos-Calabar Expressway through their neighbourhood. Community leaders have rejected claims that the diversion was prompted by the presence of telecommunications cables, calling on President Tinubu to reverse the decision.

Construction of the 700km Lagos-Calabar Highway officially began in March 2024, with the first phase covering 47.7km in Lagos State. Minister Umahi has stated that the entire project will take eight years to complete, with multiple sections underway simultaneously. As the road dispute intensifies, both investors and local residents are calling for transparency and accountability from the Ministry of Works.