The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has brought three men and two companies before an Abuja court over an alleged N23 million land scam.
Those arraigned on Tuesday before Justice Ngozika Nwabulu of the FCT High Court are Paul Olufemi Ogunlana, Olaniyi Rufai, Dauda Bashir, Unified Luxury Homes Limited, and Utopian Planning Ltd. A sixth person named in the case, Tayo Yusuf Adeyinka, is said to be at large.
According to the EFCC, the defendants defrauded a man identified as Lucky Odigie by presenting themselves as owners of a 2.2-hectare plot in Gausa District, off Airport Road, Abuja. The commission said Odigie was shown a power of attorney and told the land was available for sale. He then paid N23 million for it.
The anti-graft agency is prosecuting them on two counts of conspiracy and obtaining money under false pretence. One of the charges states that in 2023, within Abuja, the defendants conspired to collect N23,000,000 from Odigie by falsely claiming they had the right to sell the Gausa land, an act said to be contrary to Sections 96 and 97 of the Penal Code Law of the Federation (Abuja), 1990.
All the defendants pleaded not guilty when the charges were read.
At the hearing, prosecution counsel Mariya Sheriff asked the court to begin trial. The defence lawyers, Osaretin Uwangue, S. O. Yahaya, and Najib Adamu, filed separate bail applications for their clients.
Justice Nwabulu granted each defendant bail at N500,000 with one surety in the same amount. The judge ruled that each surety must be a civil servant not below grade level 12.
The case was adjourned to September 22, 2026, for trial to begin.
