The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday, January 28, 2025 handed over four landed title documents recovered from criminal syndicates to their owners.
The title documents were falsified by a syndicate of land fraudsters in Abuja. They allegedly forged the documents and deprived the lawful owners of their property. 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 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. We are here this afternoon to witness the handing over of title documents to victims of financial crimes in Nigeria. This has been going on for a while and we want the public to know that there is a need for us to work together as a nation and as a people to ensure that perpetrators of crimes do not get away with crime and the proceeds of their crimes”
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 in the habit of conniving with some staff members of the FCT to perpetrate crime. This syndicate is in the habit of forging signatures of original allottees of land. Not only do they forge their signatures, they forge their 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, he assured that all land fraudsters in the FCT would be brought to book. “It is very heartening but encouraging to let Nigerians know that we have arrested quite a number of them. As a matter of fact, the people that were involved in the perpetration of this crime are being prosecuted as I am talking to you. 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 are all over the place. This is also a warning to all those syndicates out there that the EFCC will definitely come after 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, Chijioke Nwankwoeze, Director of Lands, FCT, thanked the EFCC for righting the wrongs and restoring faith and confidence in Nigerians that all hopes are not lost. “We have all witnessed the handing over of title documents recovered from people who should not have had it at all. The EFCC has over the years collaborated with us in making successes in this regard. People will do all sorts of things to sabotage the system, but with efforts such as this, people would know that it is not necessary to even attempt to commit this type of crime. What would it profit you if you try to take people’s title documents, transact with them and one day they will be recovered and returned to the allottees or the title holders?
“So we thank the Commission for what they have done. Because with this, 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. We know that some of these things were perpetrated with the connivance of our staff. Your investigations have revealed some of those involved. We encourage you to continue to do what you are doing and we promise to continue to cooperate with you in all your investigations. With this, there will be no overstatement or overemphasis that we would on our own refer suspected cases of this nature to you to help us unravel and get to the bottom of it. To the beneficiaries, congratulations. Some of you may have lost hope, but you can see that the hope is restored and EFCC will continue to restore it for all Nigerians”, he said.
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 regained the title document of Plot 714, Jahi District, Abuja, worth over N400 million, Mr. Nuhu Umar 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. “Let me, on behalf of other recipients, appreciate you and appreciate the Commission for helping us to recover our legitimate land. We are happy. I applied for this land and it never came to me. I never thought it would be real but today it has become real and I now have my land. We want to thank you for your effort because it is actually your effort that made it possible for us to have our land back. I pray to God Almighty to continue to sustain you, guide you and ensure that you recover more. On behalf of other Nigerians, thank you very much,” he said.
