An Abuja High Court has sentenced a staff member of the Federal Capital Development Authority, Kingsley Eselebor, to 25 years in prison for defrauding a land buyer with forged documents.
Justice A.O. Musa handed down the sentence on Wednesday after finding Eselebor guilty of five counts brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The judge sentenced him to seven years’ imprisonment on each of counts one to three and two years on counts four and five. The sentences are to run concurrently, with no option of a fine.
Eselebor, who worked in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning of the FCDA, was accused of collecting money from Moses Osinachi for two plots of land, numbered 383 and 424, in Kubwa District Central Annex, Abuja, despite having no valid title to the properties.
According to the prosecution, Osinachi trusted Eselebor because they were neighbours and worshipped at the same church.
Eselebor allegedly presented conveyance documents bearing the names Yusuf Lawan and Adegoke Asiwaju and assured Osinachi that the properties were genuine.
Payment for the properties was made through Osinachi’s company, Moscow International Services Limited.
The fraud was uncovered when Osinachi attempted to take possession of the plots and discovered that Eselebor had no valid title to transfer.
The defendant subsequently admitted that he knew the properties had rival claimants and promised to provide alternative plots. However, he failed to fulfil the promise or refund the money, prompting Osinachi to petition the EFCC.
The case was initially filed in March 2021 with three counts but was later amended to five counts, including allegations that Eselebor knowingly presented forged documents as genuine.
Reacting to the judgment, the EFCC Director of Criminal Litigation, Joshua Saidi, said the conviction would serve as a deterrent to land racketeering and the use of forged documents to defraud unsuspecting buyers.
“This judgment has served as a deterrent to all these land racketeers, these fraudsters parading fake documents and defrauding unsuspecting victims,” Saidi said.
This version also avoids the apparent contradiction between the 25-year total and the concurrent sentences by retaining the court’s stated sentence structure rather than adding the individual terms together.