EFCC Presents Two Witnesses Against Defendant in Alleged N19m Land Fraud in Lagos

Ikeja, Lagos | March 3, 2026

The (EFCC), Lagos Zonal Directorate 1, Ikoyi, on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, presented two witnesses in the ongoing trial of Murtala Adebayo over an alleged N19 million land fraud before Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Lagos State Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja.

Adebayo was initially arraigned on January 24, 2024, before Justice Mojisola Dada on a three-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence. He pleaded “not guilty” to the charges.

Justice Dada, however, later withdrew from the case following allegations that the defendant had used falsified Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) documents and fake tax records to secure his bail. The matter was subsequently returned to the Chief Judge of Lagos State and re-assigned to Justice Oshodi for trial to commence de novo.
One of the counts reads: “Murtala Adebayo, sometime in 2015 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of N4,500,000 (Four Million Five Hundred Thousand Naira) from one Gafar Abiodun Ademolake by falsely representing to him that the payment was for three plots of land at Ogombo, Ajah, Lagos, which representation you knew to be false.”
Another count alleges that the defendant, in 2019, obtained three vehicles—two Toyota Camry 2005 models and one Honda Accord 2006 model—valued at N9,000,000 from the same complainant under the pretext that the vehicles represented balance payment for 18 plots of land at Ayogbemi Village, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos.
At the resumed hearing on Tuesday, the second prosecution witness (PW2), Ademolake Aminat Keji, identified the defendant as her biological father and family head in Ajah, Lagos.
Led in evidence by prosecution counsel I.O. Daramola, Keji, an officer of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), narrated how she and her husband ventured into land investment based on the defendant’s advice.

She told the court that her father encouraged them to gradually invest in landed property and offered to assist them despite their lack of experience in real estate transactions.
According to her, during visits to the defendant’s office, they met two associates, Ahmed Balogun and Godwin Richard, who facilitated payments and documentation relating to the transactions.

She stated that payments were made through bank deposits and cash, after which receipts and deeds of assignment were issued to them. They were later advised to secure their allocated plots by erecting block markers, a process that required additional payments.
Keji further testified that subsequent purchases were made after the defendant informed them he had eight acres of land available, leading them and her husband to acquire 18 plots in total.

She added that weeks after the transactions, the defendant requested that she and her husband purchase three vehicles for him—two Toyota Camry 2005 models and one Honda Accord 2006 model—which were subsequently delivered to his residence.
“Attempts to take possession of the land later failed. He avoided our phone calls and also failed to allocate the plots of land to us,” she told the court.

According to her, family members intervened after she reported the matter to her elder brothers and an uncle. She also revealed that a former staff member of the defendant hinted that similar incidents had occurred in the past.

The witness further stated that when they revisited the land, block structures erected to secure their plots had been destroyed.
“After several unsuccessful attempts to resolve the dispute internally, my husband and I resolved to petition the EFCC,” she said.
The matter was adjourned for continuation of trial.