Lagos Deploys GIS, AI and LiDAR for Land Reform as CFL Alleges 'Title Laundry'
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The Lagos State Government has unveiled a push to overhaul land administration with digital mapping, LiDAR and artificial intelligence, even as construction firm CFL accused the state's land registry of enabling a 'land title laundry' scheme.
The Lagos State Government has moved to overhaul land administration and urban planning with digital mapping, LiDAR technology and artificial intelligence, in a push to curb land-related bottlenecks, improve infrastructure planning and make public services more data-driven.
The new geospatial capability was unveiled at the inaugural Lagos GIS Day, where Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu inspected digital systems designed to give the state accurate information on land, properties, roads, communities and physical development. At the Land Archive of the Lands Bureau, the governor inspected the archiving of manual land records; he later visited the Ikeja Regional eGIS Centre, where officials presented plans for regional centres in Epe, Ikorodu and Badagry, and the Lagos GIS Centre, where the Lagos Property Bank and a completed digital mapping project were unveiled.
The mapping project includes orthophotos and LiDAR imagery capable of producing highly detailed information about the physical environment, and officials demonstrated artificial intelligence applications being developed around the data. Lagos began building its e-GIS capability in 2016 and formally established the Lagos e-GIS Office in 2021; in 2025 the state House of Assembly adopted recommendations on the Lagos Geographic Information Service Bill, which Sanwo-Olu assented to on 6 October 2025, creating the Lagos Geographic Information Service (LAGIS) and declaring 6 October Lagos GIS Day.
The development came as the Group Managing Director of CFL Group, Lai Omotola, raised alarm over what he described as a sophisticated 'land title laundry' scheme, warning that forged property documents were allegedly being inserted into the state's land registry to make them appear genuine.
Omotola alleged that some individuals, working with insiders in the state's land registry, target abandoned and high-value properties, particularly in Ikoyi, Victoria Island and other prime areas, and use forged documents to establish ownership of the properties.
Officials said the growing availability of detailed spatial data could support property administration, infrastructure planning, urban development and investment decisions. The state said the completed orthophotos and LiDAR imagery would give government another layer of spatial intelligence for monitoring and planning development across Lagos, with implications for property owners, prospective buyers and developers.