Court jails FCDA staff 25 years over land fraud
Court jails FCDA staff 25 years over land fraud
An Abuja High Court has sentenced a staff member of the Federal Capital Development Authority, FCDA, Kinsley Eselebor, to 25 years’ imprisonment for defrauding a land buyer with fake documents.
Justice A.O. Musa of the FCT High Court, Abuja, convicted Eselebor on Wednesday after finding him guilty of all five counts of obtaining money under false pretences and using forged documents to defraud Moses Osinachi.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which prosecuted the case, said Eselebor worked in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning of the FCDA.
The court sentenced him to seven years’ imprisonment each on counts one, two and three, and two years each on counts four and five.
The sentences are to run concurrently without an option of fine.
The prosecution told the court that Eselebor defrauded Osinachi of money paid for two plots of land, identified as Plots 383 and 424, at Kubwa District Central Annex, Abuja.
According to the EFCC, Eselebor presented the plots as genuine despite having no valid title to transfer to the buyer.
The charge was initially filed in March 2021 with three counts of obtaining money under false pretences before it was amended to five counts.
While counts one to three bordered on obtaining money under false pretences, counts four and five concerned the use of forged documents as genuine to convince the buyer that the properties were legitimate.
Evidence before the court showed that Osinachi and Eselebor were neighbours and worshipped at the same church.
Their relationship, alongside Eselebor’s position as an FCDA employee, reportedly strengthened Osinachi’s confidence in the transaction.
The court heard that Eselebor presented two conveyance documents bearing the names Yusuf Lawan and Adegoke Asiwaju to convince Osinachi that the plots were genuine.
When Osinachi sought further confirmation of the documents, Eselebor allegedly assured him of their authenticity, relying on his position within the FCDA.
Based on the assurances, the buyer transferred money from his company’s account, Moscow International Services Limited, to Eselebor for the purchase of the two plots.
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However, the transaction ran into trouble when Osinachi attempted to take possession of the properties and discovered that Eselebor had no valid title to transfer to him.
When confronted, Eselebor reportedly admitted knowing that the plots had rival claimants and promised to provide alternative properties.
The promise was not fulfilled.
Osinachi subsequently demanded a refund, but the matter remained unresolved as Eselebor allegedly gave changing explanations.
The buyer then petitioned the EFCC, which investigated the complaint and arraigned the FCDA official.
Reacting to the judgment, the EFCC’s Director of Criminal Litigation and prosecution counsel, Joshua Saidi, said the conviction would serve as a deterrent to individuals involved in land racketeering and the use of forged documents to defraud property buyers.
Saidi expressed concern that Eselebor’s position as an FCDA employee had allegedly been used to inspire confidence in the transaction.
“This judgment has served as a deterrent to all these land racketeering, you know, these fraudsters, parading fake documents, defrauding unsuspecting victims,” he said.
He questioned the erosion of public trust when government employees were accused of using their positions to facilitate fraudulent property transactions.
According to him, the conviction demonstrated that individuals who defrauded unsuspecting buyers could be held accountable.
“So, it’s very nice, to me, it’s a judgment that will act as deterrence because there is no gain in fraud. And this man is a staff of FCDA. You can only imagine how many people he would have scammed, if not because of this case. He would have gone scot-free,” Saidi said.
The EFCC said the conviction followed its investigation into the land transaction and subsequent prosecution of the defendant.
The commission’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, disclosed the development in a statement dated October 28, 2026.
