Police arraign estate agent for alleged N10m fraudulent land deal

The Police on Wednesday arraigned a 47-year-old estate agent, Yakubu Yohanna, in a Wuse Zone 2 Senior Magistrates’ Court, Abuja, for allegedly reselling an allocated land for N10 million.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Yohanna, a resident of Kubwa, Abuja, is standing trial on a three-count charge of criminal breach of trust, cheating and forgery.

The prosecutor, John Ijagbemi, told the court that one Haruna Bukar of Jedo Estate, Abuja, reported the matter on Nov. 15, 2015 via a petition to the Commissioner of Police, FCT Command.

Ijagbemi said that the defendant had sometime in Sept. 2015 deceived the complainant and made him purchase a plot of land situated along Airport road, Abuja.

“The complainant entrusted the sum of N10 million to the defendant for the purchase of the said land, but when he started developing the land, another man emerged laying claim to the same land.

“This other man said the land had been allocated to him since June 2000.

“Police investigation however revealed that the defendant converted the said money to his personal use and forged the land documents he gave to the complainant,” he said.

Ijagbemi said that the offences contravened sections 312, 322 and 365 of the Penal Code.

NAN reports that the defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges levelled against him.

Thereafter, he was granted bail in the sum of N2 million with a surety by the trial judge, Usman Shuaibu.

Shuaibu adjourned the case to Feb. 22 for hearing.