NDLEA auctions seized hotel, three other properties for N6.1bn

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has auctioned four properties seized from convicted drug traffickers and forfeited to the Federal Government for a total of N6.15 billion.

The sale followed a competitive bidding process involving eight assets linked to drug barons across the country. However, only four properties were sold after bids for the remaining four failed to meet their reserved prices.

At the bid-opening ceremony held at the NDLEA headquarters in Abuja on Monday, representatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), civil society organisations, auctioneers and bidders witnessed the exercise.

The Head of the Asset Recovery and Management Unit of the Federal Ministry of Justice, Tamarantare Francis Ali-Bozi, announced the successful bids.

A six-storey hotel located in Victoria Island, Lagos, attracted the highest bid of N5.9 billion and was won by Tope Ojo and Tunde Olonishakin Estate Firm.

Other successful bidders included FSS Limited, which acquired a property in Lekki Phase 1, Lagos, for N219.5 million; A-BNB Global Innovations Limited, which won a block of flats in Ejigbo, Lagos, for N104 million; and Fazeen Global Link Limited, which secured a property in Akure, Ondo State, for N29.36 million.

Speaking at the event, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), represented by the Agency Secretary, Shadrach Haruna, said the auction was intended not only to generate revenue for the government but also to reinforce public confidence in the rule of law.

He said the exercise sends a strong message that criminal proceeds would not remain in the hands of those profiting from illicit drug trafficking.

Marwa reiterated the agency’s commitment to pursuing drug traffickers, dismantling criminal networks and recovering proceeds of crime in accordance with the law.

He also assured stakeholders that the entire process was conducted transparently and in strict compliance with the provisions of the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act, 2022, the Public Procurement Act, 2007, and other relevant regulations.

According to him, all assets earmarked for auction were professionally valued by the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, while extensive due diligence and security screening were conducted on all auctioneers pre-qualified by the Bureau of Public Procurement.

The NDLEA boss added that none of the auctioneers engaged in the process had any known involvement in drug-related offences or other criminal activities that could compromise the integrity of the exercise.