Court orders final forfeiture of two Abuja properties ‘linked to N777.2m fraud’
Court orders final forfeiture of two Abuja properties ‘linked to N777.2m fraud’
A federal high court in Lagos has ordered the final forfeiture of two Abuja properties linked to Adeseun Adeniyi Olakunle, a self-acclaimed deputy director in Lagos, and another person over an alleged N777.2 million fraudulent transaction.
Deinde Dipeolu, the judge, made the order on Wednesday after considering an application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The properties are a three-bedroom bungalow at Plot D061, Magoro Drive, Phase 2, City View Estate, Dakwo District, Abuja; and 4.2 hectares of land at Plots MF 2344, 1980A, 1981A and 1979A, Sabon Lugbe East Extension, Abuja.
The application, marked FHC/LAG/644/2026, was filed and argued by Chinyere Okezie, counsel to the EFCC.
The anti-graft agency told the court that its application was brought under section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, section 44(2)(b) of the 1999 constitution and the inherent jurisdiction of the court.
According to an affidavit deposed to by Ahmed Bello, an EFCC investigator, the agency began its investigation following a petition by Bolaji Ayorinde Law LLP against Olakunle and Omotosho Abraham Aremu over alleged obtaining by false pretence and stealing.
The EFCC alleged that in 2025, the two suspects approached a complainant with a purported presidential-backed and federally sanctioned land allocation scheme involving about 30,134,189 square metres of land in Maroko, Lekki 1, Lagos.
The agency said the suspects falsely claimed to have direct connections with the presidency and the office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation and could secure federal allocation of the land.
It further alleged that Olakunle presented himself as a deputy director with the Lagos state government and displayed a government identity card to support the claim.
The EFCC said the complainant transferred N1.5 million on August 19, 2025; N15 million on August 28 and N735 million on September 8 to the two suspects based on the representations.
The agency said its investigation subsequently traced N145 million to Nwadije Tracy Otite on September 16, 2025, for the purchase of the bungalow.
It also traced another N100 million to NCR and Associates Ltd on October 9, 2025, for the purchase of the second property.
The EFCC said the recipients were invited and confirmed that the properties belonged to the respondents.
The agency added that Dipeolu had, on June 17, 2026, granted an interim forfeiture order and directed it to publish the order.
According to the EFCC, the order was subsequently published in The Guardian on July 3, 2026.
The commission told the court that no objection had been received from the respondents following the publication of the interim order.
Okezie therefore urged the court to make the forfeiture final in the interest of justice.
After hearing the EFCC’s submission and reviewing the processes filed and the legal authorities cited, Dipeolu held that the application had merit.
The judge subsequently granted the application as prayed.
