Lagos court sentences couple to 14 years each for N67.6m property fraud

Justice Mojisola Dada handed down the sentences on Monday, 2 November 2026, after finding the defendants guilty of conspiracy, stealing and obtaining money by false pretence.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in a statement issued on Monday, disclosed that the court also ordered the convicts to refund the sum of N67,659,592 to the petitioner, Olusola Odemuyiwa.

The defendants were prosecuted by the EFCC’s Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 on a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy, stealing, obtaining money by false pretence and forgery. However, they were discharged on the forgery charge.

One of the charges alleged that the defendants, sometime in 2010, fraudulently sold a property situated at Plot 19, Murtala Mohammed Way, Ebute Meta, Oyingbo, Lagos, for N16 million.

According to the prosecution, the sale was carried out under the false representation that the defendants had the authority of the bona fide beneficiaries of the estate of the late Dr Moshood Babatunde Odemuyiwa to dispose of the property.

The prosecution further alleged that the defendants knew the representation was false but proceeded with the transaction with the intention of defrauding the buyer.

At their arraignment, both defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges, prompting the commencement of trial.

During the proceedings, prosecution counsel, Fadeke Giwa, called three witnesses and tendered several documentary exhibits in support of the case. The defence, on its part, presented one witness.

In her judgment, Justice Dada held that the prosecution had established its case beyond reasonable doubt and consequently convicted both defendants on the first three counts.

The court sentenced them to three years’ imprisonment for conspiracy, one year for stealing and 10 years for obtaining money by false pretence, without an option of fine.

However, the defendants were discharged on the fourth count, which bordered on forgery.

The judge also ordered that the sentence imposed on the first defendant be suspended until he is apprehended.

The EFCC had alleged that the defendants conspired in 2010 to dishonestly take possession of property belonging to beneficiaries of the estate of the late Dr Moshood Babatunde Odemuyiwa, in violation of Section 285(1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

The commission maintained that the alleged fraudulent sale of the property formed part of the transactions that led to the prosecution and eventual conviction of the defendants.