EFCC Recovers and Returns N125m to Lagos Land Fraud Victim

​IKOYI, LAGOS — In a major victory for transparency and asset recovery, the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has successfully recovered and handed over the sum of N125 million to a land fraud victim, Akinsewa Akiode.

​The funds, disbursed via Sterling Bank drafts, were presented to Akiode on Thursday at the commission’s Ikoyi office, bringing closure to a deceptive property transaction engineered by one Olufemi Omoola Fashehun.

​According to details emerging from the anti-graft agency, Akiode had petitioned the EFCC after falling victim to a fraudulent plot involving a 550-square-metre prime parcel of land situated at No. 10, Kudirat Abiola Way, Oregun, Lagos State. Fashehun had allegedly collected the full N125 million purchase price under the guise of an unencumbered sale, deliberately withholding a crucial caveat: the property had been entangled in a protracted court case since 2011.

​EFCC investigators uncovered that despite being served multiple court processes and explicit legal injunctions restraining any form of construction on the disputed land, the suspect concealed these material facts to fleece the buyer. Consequently, the petitioner suffered total loss, watching both his financial investment and ongoing development structures on the site collapse into legal limbo.

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​Speaking during the official handover ceremony, the Acting Zonal Director, Assistant Commander of the EFCC (ACE I) Bawa Usman Kaltungo, emphasized the commission’s unwavering stance against financial malpractice. He reiterated that the EFCC remains fiercely dedicated to probing economic crimes, tracking down illicit proceeds, and ensuring that victims receive full restitution.

​The latest development underscores the anti-graft body’s growing efficiency in enforcing asset recovery, offering a renewed sense of security to investors navigating Lagos’s volatile real estate market.