Tech Experts Inaugurate Nigeria’s First Anti-Fraud Real Estate App

Funmi Ogundare

In an effort aimed at curbing fraud in Nigeria’s real estate sector, young technology experts, yesterday, inaugurated the country’s first anti-corruption mobile application designed to eliminate fraudulent practices in property and land transactions.

The app, known as First Choice Property, will address the multi-billion-naira losses recorded annually in Nigeria’s real estate, property and landholding sector.
Speaking at the event, in Lagos, the Chief Executive Officer of Ist Choice Property, Mr. Taiwo Joel Oladapo, alongside Co-designer Mr. Gbenga Agbana, disclosed that Nigerians lose more than ₦100 billion every year to fraudulent real estate schemes, making the sector one of the riskiest areas of business in the country.

Oladapo said the real estate sector has the capacity to generate up to five million jobs annually, but its growth has been severely threatened by the activities of quacks and fraudsters. He explained that the new app was created to restore confidence and credibility to the sector through transparency and proper legal verification.

“The real estate sector is a huge employer of labour, but it is under threat due to the invasion of fraudulent practitioners. Ist Choice Property is here to help redeem the image of real estate in Nigeria. We have established a legal framework and are working with state and federal government institutions to ensure that the sector is free from corruption and incompetence,” Oladapo said.

According to him, the app is designed to protect Nigerians at home and in the diaspora from losing their hard-earned money to dubious real estate and land speculators. He noted that the platform enables potential investors to verify property status and identify safe investment opportunities, while avoiding properties under dispute, confiscated by anti-corruption agencies or lacking proper legal documentation.

Oladapo also highlighted Nigeria’s acute housing deficit, noting that less than 10 per cent of Nigerians are homeowners, while the country’s housing stock stands at about 10.71 million units for an estimated population of 230 million people.

He said increased migration in recent years has driven significant investments in housing and land by locals and Nigerians in the diaspora, with diaspora investments estimated at $20.9 billion in 2024. He however, lamented that billions of naira are lost annually by diaspora investors due to fraud and weak regulation in the sector.

The CEO observed that corruption and exploitation by land and property speculators have continued to discourage genuine investments by both local and international investors, including Nigerians abroad.

“With the Ist Choice Property mobile app, an end has come to corruption in the real estate sector,” Oladapo said, adding that the platform would help Nigeria save billions of naira annually and improve the country’s image in the global community.

He stressed that the app would enhance transparency in housing and property investments, making Nigeria’s real estate sector more attractive, secure and trustworthy for investors.

The Ist Choice Property app, the developers said, represents a significant technological intervention aimed at safeguarding investments, promoting accountability and strengthening confidence in Nigeria’s real estate market.