China Warns Its Citizens Against Investing In Lagos Properties

Umoh Umoh

On October 6, 2025, an X user, @ifeanyiakorjuru claimed that the Chinese government has warned its citizens from investing on properties in Lagos state, citing that the state is prone to senseless demolishing of structures and land grabbing. The claim had pictures of what looked like a press briefing and demolished structures which had the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu inside one of it. This post was captioned “Breaking 💯 China has warned its citizens not to invest or build multimillion-dollar companies in Lagos, stressing that the Lagos State government has a record of demolishing properties and reclaiming land—especially those belonging to non-indigenous Nigerians, mostly the Igbos.”

When this report was published, the post had about 115,000 views with over 4,200 replies, reposts, quotes, likes and bookmarks. In the comment section, @Rugged440 said “They think they are doing Igbos not knowing investors are watching. That's why Eko Atlantic City hasn't sold and empty going to 10 yrs. Guess who the first landlord was in 2017? An Igbo man, Dr. ABC Orjiakor. Him and all others had since sold and ran https://nairaland.com/4209625/igbo-man-becomes-first-land” while @Tapto_earn wrote “If China is warning its people about Lagos, then you know the problem is deep. When foreigners start fearing what locals already endure, it says more about the system than the investors.”

VERIFICATION

A reverse image search on all the images led to a news report about a press conference held a year ago by the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office in China on the issuance of new legal guidelines for the punishment of “Taiwan independence” separatists. While the one with the image of the Lagos state government, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has been in circulation since 2023, when the Lagos state government demolished buildings on drainage channels.

The only recent warning issued by the Chinese government to its citizens was from July 2025. The Chinese Embassy in Nigeria had warned its citizens about engaging in illicit activities, notably telecommunications and online fraud, etc. This warning came on the heels of reports concerning a Chinese national tried by the Nigerian judiciary in connection with telecommunications and online fraud. While reiterating its strong opposition to such crimes, the Chinese government directed its nationals to strictly comply with local laws and regulations and to refrain from engaging in illegal acts.

A look at the Chinese government and its Nigerian embassy’s press releases revealed that the Chinese government did not make any statement warning its citizens not to make large or multimillion-dollar investments or establish major businesses in Lagos.

CONCLUSION

The claim that the Chinese government has warned its citizens from investing on properties in Lagos state is FALSE. There is no evidence to support the claim and the images used in the post are from different contexts.