The Abuja Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, arraigned three alleged land grabbers and two companies before Justice Ngozika C. Nwabulu of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Maitama, Abuja.
The defendants are Paul Olufemi Ogunlana, Olaniyi Rufai, Dauda Bashir, Unified Luxury Homes Limited and Utopian Planning Ltd.
The defendants allegedly defrauded one Lucky U. Odigie of ₦23,000,000 (Twenty-Three Million Naira) after allegedly presenting themselves as owners of a parcel of land and obtaining the money from him under false pretences.
According to the petitioner, the defendants and their companies approached him with a Power of Attorney purportedly authorising them to sell a parcel of land measuring about 2.2 hectares and located at Gausa District, off Airport Road, Abuja. The document, however, allegedly turned out to be false.
Odigie said the defendants told him that the land belonged to them and was available for sale, prompting him to part with his money.
The defendants were arraigned on a two-count charge bordering on conspiracy and obtaining money by false pretence to the tune of ₦23,000,000, belonging to Odigie.
Count One of the charge reads: “That you Olufemi Ogunlana, Tayo Yusuf Adeyinka (now at large), Olaniyi Rufai, Dauda Bashir, Unified Luxury Homes Limited and Utopian Planning Ltd., sometime in 2023, within the Abuja jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did agree amongst yourselves to commit an illegal act, to wit: obtaining the sum of Twenty-Three Million Naira (₦23,000,000.00 only) from Lucky U. Odigie under the false pretence that you had authority to sell a parcel of land measuring about 2.2 hectares located at Gausa District, off Airport Road, Abuja, which representation you knew to be false, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 96 of the Penal Code Law, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (Abuja), 1990, and punishable under Section 97 of the same law.”
Count Two reads: “That you Paul Olufemi Ogunlana, Tayo Yusuf Adeyinka (now at large), Olaniyi Rufai, Dauda Bashir, Unified Luxury Homes Limited and Utopian Planning Ltd., sometime in 2023 at Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of Twenty-Three Million Naira (₦23,000,000.00) from Lucky U. Odigie as payment for the purchase of a parcel of land measuring about 2.2 hectares situated at Gausa District, off Airport Road, Abuja, by falsely representing that the said land belonged to you and was available for sale, which representation you knew to be false, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(a) and punishable under Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2026.”
The defendants pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to them, prompting the prosecution counsel, Mariya Ujudud Sheriff, to ask the court for a date for the commencement of trial.
Defence counsel, Osaretin A. Uwangue, represented the first and fourth defendants, while S. O. Yahaya represented the second defendant and Najib Adamu represented the third and fifth defendants.
All the defence counsel, however, filed applications for bail on behalf of their respective clients.
After listening to the submissions of all the defence counsel, Justice Nwabulu admitted the defendants to bail in the sum of ₦500,000 (Five Hundred Thousand Naira) each, with one surety each in like sum.
According to the judge, the sureties must be civil servants not below Grade Level 12.
Justice Nwabulu thereafter adjourned the matter until September 22, 2026, for commencement of trial.
