Lawyer Defrauds Client 73M Over Land
A businessman, Oketola Benson Adewole, has narrated before a Lagos Special Offences Court how a lawyer, Ironsi Emmanuel Okoroafor, allegedly defrauded him of N73 million to obtain a land title. Adewole, in his testimony before Justice Olubusola Okunuga, said the defendant, Okoroafor, was his lawyer.
Led in evidence by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) counsel, Mr Ahmad Usman, the witness narrated how he got to know Okoroafor. In his evidence, the prosecution witness said the defendant was introduced to him through his friend, Paul Adeyemi, a Police officer.
“Adeyemi was the one that introduced Okoroafor to me as his lawyer, and he said I can use him if I have any legal issues.”
He continued that he is into fish farming and is also a businessman. He told the court that he has many legal activities with the defendant.
“The first work he did for me was when my uncle purchased a flat. He prepared the agreement for me, and I paid him N200.000.00. The second was when I wanted to sponsor a community, and he prepared an agreement for me, which was paid for in his wife’s account because they have a joint account. Also, when I had an issue with the EFCC in Abuja, he came with me, and I sponsored all the bills.”
When asked what other legal services the defendant rendered to him, he responded that, “He owns four plots of land at Gedegede Waterfront Lekki, Lagos, and that his lawyer, the defendant, suggested he get to perfect the land for him.
“One faithful day, the defendant called me, Chief Benson, this your land at Gedegede Waterfront. What documents do you have for it? I cannot develop that place without genuine documents that he can perfect all necessary documents for the land. I believed and accepted his advice.”
The witness further told the court that the defendant said he would bring a surveyor from the Surveyor General’s office to measure the land.
“We fixed a date for the meeting. The defendant (Okoroafor), Peter Tyson from the Surveyor General’s office, and I walked through the land, and nobody embarrassed us.
“Tyson measured the land and said the total cost for survey and everything is 35 million which I told him I don’t have such amount and he said I should bring 18 million.”
“The witness also told the court that the defendant introduced Tyson to him as a person working in a ministry, so such an amount of money can’t be paid into his account that he will give me an account to pay the money into. He gave me Mary Ajibade’s account, to which I paid 18 million.”
The prosecution witness further narrated that the defendant told him that they had changed people working in the ministry and that he should pay N2 million again, which he paid into his defendant’s account (Okoroafor’s account).
He said that after some months, the defendant told him they had done the survey, and it remained a Certificate of Occupancy (C of O). He paid N50 million into the defendant’s FCMB account in April 2022.
” Thereafter, the defendant said I should pay an extra N3 million to fast track the C of O and necessary things. I was now waiting to take my papers, and I asked for receipts, but he didn’t give me any receipts. He said all the receipts are in my file.
“There was a day I went to his house. I asked him to bring out my file, but Okoroafor said he could not find my file.
He kept giving me excuses my Lord. He said they changed the commissioner, and governor Sanwo-Olu travelled to America.”
The businessman said he went to Lands Registry at Alausa, that it was there he found out that governor Sanwo-Olu is no longer using C of O again for the past two years.
“When I got home, I narrated to my family the outcome. I then went to (defendant) his house. He narrated the out come from the Surveyor Generals office to him, he asked me who told that and I responded to him that I need my money back.
“After some months nothing was done. So I wrote a petition through another lawyer to the EFCC).
The witness was therefore cross examined by defendant counsel, Mr James Babatunde Alara. The witness affirmed that before going to the EFCC office with his petition through another lawyer that he was not owing the defendant.
Adewole also told court that he gave the defendant, “a Deed of Assignment concerning the land at Gedegede to secure the C of O.”
After listening to the witness testimony, Justice Okunuga subsequently adjourned the case to April 10 ,2025 for continuation of trial.
