VIDEO: Rotting billions: Inside Kwara’s abandoned Housing Estate project, now criminals’ den
Rotting billions: Inside Kwara’s abandoned Housing Estate project, now criminals’ den
In the heart of Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State, a MultiBillion Naira housing estate now lies in ruins, not from old age or natural disaster, but from the rot of government neglect.
Once touted as a proud flagship of the Federal Government’s National Housing Programme (NHP), the estate today is a ghost town. No tenants. No security. No electricity. Only bush, broken dreams, and bandits.
A concerned Nigerian, who recently stumbled upon the site while scouting for a movie location, raised the alarm after discovering the shocking state of the abandoned project. What he found was not just overgrown grass and empty buildings, but a security risk waiting to explode.
“This place has been hijacked by criminals,” he said. “All the rooms have doors and keys. What do you expect? It’s a perfect cover for kidnappers and ritualists.”
The signpost at the site tells the story: the contract was awarded in 2019 by the Federal Ministry of Works & Housing, Abuja, to RedPorch Construction Company Ltd., located in Gwarinpa, Abuja.
The scope included the construction of infrastructure; roads, drains, and asphalt finishing within the estate. Six years on, the structures, about 100 apartments, most of which have been completed are in place. The roads are asphalted. Transformers installed. And yet, no human being occupies the place.
Instead of families finding shelter, criminals are finding comfort. What should have been a solution to Nigeria’s worsening housing crisis has become a shelter for crime.
This is not an isolated tragedy. Across Nigeria, thousands of public projects rot away in similar fashion, abandoned halfway or just before completion. Billions of naira pumped in. Zero value delivered. No accountability. No consequence.
What baffles residents and security experts alike is why a fully roofed, nearly completed housing estate, with functional road network and electricity infrastructure would be left to die in the bush. And in a country where insecurity is rising daily, it is dangerous and irresponsible.
“Government keeps crying about banditry, yet it’s handing over perfect hideouts to criminals on a platter,” said a local security volunteer. “This place will soon become a base for urban terrorism if nothing is done.”
Beyond security risks, the abandonment raises questions about corruption and political insincerity. Was the project ever meant to be completed? Or was it just another money pit dressed up as a development plan?
With thousands of Nigerians sleeping under bridges and battling soaring house rents, the criminal waste of a ready-made housing estate is nothing short of a slap in the face of the masses.
The concerned Nigerian who raised the alarm is demanding answers and he is not alone.
He called on both the Federal Government and the Kwara State Government to immediately revisit the project, complete it, and hand it over to Nigerians who desperately need it.
According to him, failure to act now will be a direct invitation to insecurity and a further drain on public funds.
“This isn’t just about shelter anymore. It’s about safety. It’s about sanity. It’s about saving Nigeria from itself,” he warned.
How many more abandoned estates must turn into criminal camps before something is done? How many more billions must be wasted before public officials are held accountable?
Nigerians are watching. The time to act was yesterday. The next best time is now.
