Some victims of Abuja land fraud can breath a sigh of relief as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has handed over landed title documents to their owners.
The Commission stated that the documents, which were falsified by a syndicate of land fraudsters in Abuja, were recovered and returned to thier rightful owners on Tuesday, 28 January 2025.
According the the anti-graft agency’s spokesman, Dele Oyewale, the syndicate allegedly forged the documents and deprived the lawful owners of their property and EFCC’s investigators, working on actionable intelligence, rounded up the fraudsters and recovered the documents for the legitimate owners.
At the handing over of the documents to the victims earlier on Tuesday, Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, noted that the recovery of the original title documents was a product of diligent investigation by operatives of the EFCC.
He particularly acknowledged the collaborative efforts of officials of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, drawn from FCT’s department of Land Administration and Abuja Geographic Information System, AGIS.
“Our engagement this afternoon is a demonstration of our commitment to synergize and collaborate with the public as an agency to fight corruption, financial and economic crimes in Nigeria. We are here to let the public know that this commitment is working and that stakeholders are collaborating with us”, Olukoyede said.
Speaking on the method of operation deployed in busting the criminal syndicate, Olukoyede disclosed that investigations led to the discovery of the syndicate of land fraudsters in the FCT who are in the habit of forging documents and signatures of original allottees of land, and conniving with some staff members of the FCT to perpetrate crime.
He said the perpetrators also forge the means of identification and passports of the original allottees and go ahead and declare the original title documents of those lands missing.
“The moment they are declared missing, they, on their own, would reapply, forge the signature and identity of the original allottee and get another title document from it”.
While regretting the situation, Olukoyede assured that all land fraudsters in the FCT would be brought to book, adding that, “what is important is for Nigerians to ensure that they do due diligence in the course of carrying out transactions on land, particularly the purchase of land and properties in Abuja, because they (fraudsters) are all over the place.
He also sounded a warning to members of these syndicates, and promised them that the law will catch up with them.
“We will not allow them to enjoy the proceeds of their crime. We are working hand-in-hand with the FCT Administration to ensure that these types of crimes don’t go unpunished”, he said.
In his remark, Director of Lands, FCT, Chijioke Nwankwoeze, thanked the EFCC for righting the wrongs and restoring faith and confidence in Nigerians that all hope is not lost.
He said with what the EFCC have done, they are not only helping to fight crime in the country, but are restoring confidence that people who own properties would ultimately have their papers regardless of whatever anybody does.
Nwankwoeze, while admitting that “some of these things were perpetrated with the connivance of our staff”, also acknowledged that EFCC’s investigations have revealed some of those involved.
Four victims of the syndicates regained their title documents from the EFCC. They are: Mr. Asinobi Emmanuel Ogbuefi who regained the Certified True Copy (CTC) of his allocation on Plot 895 Kaura District, Abuja, valued at over N150 million; the family of the late Ambassador Joseph D. Daze, who regained the title document of Plot 714, Jahi District, Abuja, worth over N400 million; Mr. Nuhu Umar, who regained the CTC of allocation in respect of Plot 625, Guzape District, Abuja, worth over N200 million, while Mr. Omar Ali Bintawa regained the Right of Occupancy (RofO) for Plot 1167 Katampe Extension, Abuja, worth N250 million.
Speaking on behalf of the victims-turned beneficiaries, Umar thanked the Executive Chairman of the EFCC and the Commission for making it possible for them to regain what they lost to fraudsters.