BLESSING OMALE, Abuja
A Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has sentenced a mortgage banker, Sulaiman Olayiwola Gbajabiamila, to 20 years imprisonment for defrauding a property seeker of ₦31 million in a fraudulent housing deal.
Justice I. O. Ijelu delivered the judgment on Monday, after finding Gbajabiamila guilty on all seven counts preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The charges bordered on stealing, obtaining money under false pretences, forgery, and retention of proceeds of crime.
Gbajabiamila was first arraigned on September 19, 2023.
He pleaded not guilty, forcing the case to go into full trial.
The EFCC’s prosecution counsel, Abdulhamid L. Tukur, called two witnesses and presented several documents, which exposed how the convict diverted funds that were meant for the purchase of a two-bedroom apartment in the Lagos Homes Estate, Iponri.
Investigations revealed that Gbajabiamila was introduced to the victim, Lateef Ayo Adeyemo, by an estate agent identified as Lukman.
Adeyemo, in search of a flat, paid ₦31 million to the banker for the acquisition of a property.
However, the transaction never materialised, as Gbajabiamila converted the money to his personal use.
Court documents also showed that in October 2021, he forged a Sterling Bank manager’s cheque valued at ₦10 million in favour of STB Building Society Limited as part of the fraudulent scheme.
In his ruling, Justice Ijelu held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
He sentenced Gbajabiamila to five years imprisonment for stealing, with an option of a ₦1 million fine.
He also imposed seven years for obtaining under false pretences, two years each for three counts of forgery with an option of ₦1 million fine on each count, two years for using false documents with an option of ₦200,000 fine, and four years for retention of proceeds of crime with an option of ₦500,000 fine.
Before sentencing, defence counsel T. E. Gbado pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy, arguing that his client was a first-time offender who had shown remorse.
The judge, however, insisted that the magnitude of the fraud required a firm response to deter similar crimes.
Reacting to the judgment, EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale described the ruling as a victory for victims of property fraud and a stern warning to fraudulent real estate operators who prey on unsuspecting Nigerians.
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