Two suspected land speculators, Povesi Zunsa Kehinde, 41, and Bodede John Oluwatobi, 36, have been arrested by operatives of the Zone 2 Command, Lagos, and charged before a Lagos Magistrate’s Court for allegedly defrauding a customer of N47 million.
The duo is accused of obtaining the money under false pretences and forging the signature of a legal practitioner, Olisah Aigbe, as well as the Director of Oxford International Group.
According to the police, the suspects collected N30 million from the complainant, Olatunjii Lawal, for six plots of land and an additional N17 million for two plots.
However, they allegedly had no land to sell and instead converted the funds to personal use before fleeing.
After Lawal filed a petition with the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 2 Command, Lagos, AIG Adegoke Fayoade ordered his team to track down the suspects.
Following intelligence gathering, the defendants were apprehended at a hideout in Lagos.
The suspects were arraigned before the Igbosere Magistrate’s Court sitting at the Tinubu Magistrate’s Court, Lagos Island, on a six-count charge including conspiracy, obtaining money by false Pretences, and forgery.
Police Prosecutor, ASP Francis Igbinosa, informed the court that the offences were committed between December 2021 and May 2023 at Gowon Estate, Egbeda, Lagos.
He stated that the suspects tricked Lawal into paying for eight plots of land, knowing there was no land available, and then fled with the money.
Igbinosa added that the defendants also forged the signature of Aigbe and the director of Oxford International Group on a land purchase agreement for Oxford Real Estate and Facility Management Services Limited to facilitate the fraud.
The offences, he said, contravene Sections 411, 314, 287, and 365 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges. Magistrate T.O. Babalola granted them bail with two sureties in like sum and adjourned the case until November 4, 2024, for mention.
The suspects were remanded at the Ikoyi Correctional Facility pending the fulfillment of their bail conditions.
