Lagos Deploys GIS, AI, LiDAR to Tackle Land, Planning Crisis

• As CFL Group alleges ‘Title Laundry’, demands reform of state’s land registry

Bennett Oghifo and Funmi Ogundare

The Lagos State Government has moved to overhaul land administration and urban planning with digital mapping, LiDAR technology and artificial intelligence, as government seeks to curb land-related bottlenecks, improve infrastructure planning and make public services more data-driven.

This crucial move is coming as the Group Managing Director of CFL Group, Lai Omotola, yesterday raised alarm over alleged sophisticated land fraud scheme in the state, which he described as ‘land title laundry’, warning that forged property documents are allegedly being inserted into the state’s land registry to make them appear genuine.

Addressing journalists, Omotola, who spoke on the development, alleged that some individuals, working with insiders in the Lagos State land registry, now 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.

Meanwhile Lagos State’s new geospatial push was unveiled yesterday at the inaugural Lagos GIS Day, where Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu inspected a range of digital systems designed to provide government with accurate information on land, properties, roads, communities and physical development across the state.

The development could have significant implications for millions of Lagos residents, particularly property owners, prospective buyers, developers and communities, as more reliable spatial data is deployed to support land administration, development control, infrastructure provision and government decision-making.

The event, themed “The Lagos Experience,” was organised by the Office of the Special Adviser to the Governor on e-GIS and Urban Development, with Global Infoswift Consulting Limited providing programme management.

At the Land Archive of the Lands Bureau, Sanwo-Olu inspected the archiving of manual land records, highlighting the state’s efforts to move away from dependence on traditional paper-based records.

The governor later visited the Ikeja Regional eGIS Centre, where officials presented plans for regional centres covering Epe, Ikorodu and Badagry.

At the Lagos GIS Centre, he inspected GIS facilities and received a briefing on the ABAT III eGIS Data Centre, while officials unveiled the Lagos Property Bank and showcased the completed digital mapping project.

The mapping project includes orthophotos and LiDAR imagery capable of providing highly detailed information about the physical environment.

Officials also demonstrated artificial intelligence applications being developed around the data.

The technology is expected to strengthen government’s ability to identify development patterns, monitor physical changes and plan infrastructure based on current spatial information rather than fragmented or outdated records.

For residents, the wider impact could extend to property transactions, road and drainage planning, urban expansion, environmental monitoring and public-service delivery.

Accurate digital land information could also help government and relevant agencies better understand property locations and land use, while providing a stronger information base for planning and development decisions.

From e-GIS to LAGIS:

Lagos began developing its e-GIS capability in 2016 as part of efforts to improve the collection and use of spatial information across government.

The Lagos e-GIS Office was formally established in 2021 to coordinate the development and integration of the state’s geospatial systems.

With the expansion of the technology and datasets, the state moved to establish a broader institutional framework.

In 2025, the Lagos State House of Assembly adopted recommendations on the Lagos Geographic Information Service Bill, which was subsequently assented to by Sanwo-Olu on October 6, 2025.

The law established the Lagos Geographic Information Service, LAGIS, while October 6 was declared Lagos GIS Day in perpetuity.

Yesterday’s event therefore marked the first official celebration of the day and another major step in the state’s decade-long development of its geospatial infrastructure.

Speaking at the event, the Special Adviser to the Governor on e-GIS and Urban Development, Olajide Abiodun Babatunde, said Lagos faced the difficult task of managing a city defined by its size, complexity and rapid transformation.

He said effective governance required government to know where land was located, how it was being used, where roads and infrastructure were developing and how communities were changing.

Babatunde said geospatial information enabled government to understand not only what was physically visible but also “where things are, how they connect and how they change.”

He described the establishment of LAGIS as a critical step towards consolidating Lagos’ geospatial initiatives and strengthening the framework for creating, managing and applying spatial information.

The GIS Day exhibition brought together technology companies, government institutions, geospatial professionals, academics, students and other stakeholders.

The exhibition featured technologies spanning geospatial systems, digital infrastructure, data, connectivity and innovation, while providing a platform for interaction between government and technology partners.

The state said the growing availability of detailed spatial data could support property administration, infrastructure planning, urban development, environmental monitoring, service delivery and investment decisions.

The completed digital mapping project, particularly the orthophotos and LiDAR imagery, provides government with another layer of spatial intelligence for monitoring and planning development across Lagos.

The inauguration of Lagos GIS Day consequently marks a shift in the state’s approach to geospatial information – from a largely technical mapping function to a strategic digital-government tool capable of influencing how land is managed, infrastructure is planned and public resources are deployed.

Babatunde said the annual event would bring the geospatial community together, showcase knowledge developed in Lagos and encourage its application towards building a “smarter, better-connected and progressive Lagos.”

Meanwhile, according to Group Managing Director of CFL Group, Lai Omotola, the ‘land title laundry’ process involves identifying abandoned properties and attaching the names of prominent individuals, including deceased persons, to fabricated land documents.

He alleged that the fraudsters would subsequently forge old land certificates, sometimes dating back to the 1970s when records may be difficult to trace, before allegedly getting insiders at the land registry to insert the documents into the government’s electronic system.

“Once the document is inside the system, the title document will immediately be authenticated. Now the title document becomes original,” he stated.

Omotola explained that after the forged title had been entered into the system, the perpetrators would allegedly declare the original document lost, swear affidavits and subsequently obtain a governor’s consent on transactions relating to the property.

He, however, stressed that a governor’s consent should not be confused with a Certificate of Occupancy (C of O), noting that the former merely signifies the government’s consent to a transaction between parties.

“A legacy C of O is government allocating you a land and granting you a Certificate of Occupancy. A governor’s consent is the governor consenting to a transaction between two parties, individuals or entities,” he stated.

According to him, the consent does not cure defects in title, as the Lagos State Government reserves the right to cancel it if forgery, misrepresentation or other defects are subsequently discovered in the documents submitted.

The group managing director cited the experience of his organisation in connection with a property at 24 Adeola Odeku, Victoria Island, Lagos, which it acquired from the federal government.

He alleged that during construction, another company arrived at the property with police personnel and attempted to seal it, claiming ownership based on a governor’s consent.

Investigations into the competing claim, Omotola revealed what he described as serious inconsistencies in the documents used to support the claim.

According to him, the purported original owner, Samuel Oladele, was allegedly the younger brother of the late Attorney General of the Federation, Chief Bola Ige, while the person said to have purchased the property from him, Alhaji Ganiu Amusan, was allegedly the father of Lagos businessman, Tayo Amusan.

He said CFL Group subsequently contacted the family of the alleged original owner and discovered that he had died in 2012, making it impossible for him to have executed a transaction concerning the property in 2015, as contained in the disputed documents.

Omotola also alleged that investigations showed that Ganiu Amusan had died in 1994, raising questions about documents purportedly showing that he acquired the property in 2015.

He further alleged that a police affidavit declaring the original land document lost was sworn in 2015 in the name of the deceased Samuel Oladele Ige.

According to him, “the first son of the deceased subsequently disputed the document, alleging that the photograph and signature contained in the affidavit did not belong to his father.”

Omotola added that a letter of no objection to the transaction was also purportedly issued in the name of the deceased in September 2015.

He said the family had petitioned the Lagos State land registry over the matter and that officials of the registry had subsequently invited Tayo Amusan and his partners to explain why the disputed consent should not be deregistered.

He alleged, however, that the individuals failed to honour the invitation on two occasions.

Consequently, Omotola issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Lagos State Registrar of Titles to deregister the disputed consent or face legal action seeking N5 billion in damages.

“We hereby issue a seven-day ultimatum to the Registrar of Lagos Land Title to deregister the consent or face legal suits that request damages of N5 billion,” he said.

He alleged that the disputed title had been used by the other party to take possession of the property and continue construction on the land, thereby causing losses to CFL Group.

Omotola called for urgent reforms in the Lagos State land registry, insisting that officials were aware of the alleged practices and encountered them regularly.

“Everything I have said here is known to the staff of the land registry. They encounter it on a daily basis, and I think it is time they put an end to the land title laundry in Lagos State Land Registry,” he said.

He also recalled that the administration of former Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode had ordered the demolition of a market opposite the Lagos State Government House, where he alleged that forged C of O were being produced.

He said the alleged fraud had evolved despite efforts to tackle earlier forms of land-document forgery, making it necessary for the state government to strengthen verification and safeguard the integrity of its land records.