Court Orders Final Forfeiture of Two Abuja Properties Linked to Alleged ₦751.5m Fraud
The Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the final forfeiture of two Abuja properties allegedly acquired with proceeds from a fraudulent land allocation scheme involving payments totalling ₦751.5 million.
Justice Deinde Dipeolu granted the order following an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in suit No. FHC/LAG/644/2026. The ruling transfers the properties to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The properties include a three-bedroom bungalow at Plot D061, Magoro Drive, Phase 2, City View Estate, Dakwo District, Abuja, and a 4.2-hectare parcel of land at Plots MF 2344, 1980A, 1981A and 1979A, Sabon Lugbe East Extension, Abuja. The EFCC linked the assets to Adeseun Adeniyi Olakunle and Omotosho Abraham Aremu.
According to an affidavit filed by EFCC investigator Ahmed Bello, the investigation followed a petition by Bolaji Ayorinde Law LLP over allegations of obtaining money by false pretence and stealing. Bello alleged that the suspects approached the complainant in 2025 with a purported presidential-backed and federally approved land allocation scheme involving about 30,134,189 square metres of land in Maroko, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos.
The investigator further alleged that the suspects claimed to have connections with the Presidency and the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation. Olakunle allegedly 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 ₦1.5 million on August 19, 2025, ₦15 million on August 28, 2025, and ₦735 million on September 8, 2025, based on the alleged representations. The commission later traced ₦145 million to Nwadije Tracy Otite for the purchase of the bungalow and another ₦100 million to NCR and Associates Ltd in connection with the second property.
Bello told the court that the EFCC had obtained an interim forfeiture order on June 17, 2026, directing the commission to publish the order and allow interested parties to explain why the properties should not be forfeited. The EFCC said the order was published in The Guardian on July 3, 2026, but no objection or challenge was filed by the respondents.
EFCC counsel Chinyere Okezie urged the court to make the interim order final, relying on relevant provisions of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, and the 1999 Constitution. After considering the application and supporting documents, Justice Dipeolu held that it had merit and ordered the final forfeiture of both properties to the Federal Government.