NDIC Sues Wema Bank Over ₦125bn Banana Island Property Dispute
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A legal battle over some of Lagos’ most valuable real estate is unfolding in Banana Island. Nigeria’s banking regulator claims billions in luxury properties linked to a failed bank were improperly taken and sold.
The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has filed lawsuits against Wema Bank over disputed Banana Island properties in Lagos valued at more than ₦125 billion, alongside an alleged unauthorized ₦401 million payment.
The case is tied to efforts to recover assets linked to the defunct Gulf Bank nearly two decades after its collapse.
NDIC alleges the luxury properties were acquired through companies connected to Gulf Bank and later improperly controlled or sold by Wema Bank at values far below market rates.
The dispute highlights the enormous financial stakes tied to high-end Lagos real estate, land ownership documentation, and banking-sector asset recovery. Wema Bank, however, argues the matter is fundamentally a property ownership dispute and says the claims are legally out of time.
The properties were reportedly intended for a 72-flat luxury estate development in partnership with Shelter Afrique Development Bank before the projects became entangled in litigation.