Couple Remanded Over N10 Million Land Fraud in Kaduna

Kaduna, Nigeria – A couple, Aisha Musa and Farouk Anas, were on Thursday, July 3, 2025, arraigned by the Kaduna Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before Justice A. Isyaka of the Kaduna State High Court for alleged land fraud totaling N10 million.

The duo faces a two-count charge encompassing conspiracy, advance fee fraud, and obtaining money under false pretenses. The prosecution alleges that on or about February 17, 2020, Aisha Musa Hamisu and Farouk Anas obtained N10,000,000 from Jamilu Buhari. They allegedly did so under the false claim that they had purchased and possessed a farmland/property situated at Birni Yero along Kaduna-Zaria Expressway, Kaduna State, a claim they knew to be false. This act is contrary to Section 1 (1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act.

Both defendants pleaded “not guilty” to the charges. Following their plea, prosecution counsel M.O Arumemi requested a trial date and that the couple be remanded in the custody of the Nigeria Correctional Services. In contrast, defence counsel Frank Akhareghemen appealed to the court to grant his clients bail.

After hearing submissions from both counsels, Justice Isyaka adjourned the case until July 24, 2025, for a ruling on the bail application. The judge ordered the immediate remand of Aisha Musa and Farouk Anas in the custody of the Nigeria Correctional Service.

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The case was initiated by a petition from Aysha Ahmed & Co on behalf of Hajiya Adama Maina. The petitioner alleged that the couple fraudulently claimed a property Hajiya Maina inherited from her late husband. They then purportedly sold the property to Jamilu Buhari under the false pretense that they had acquired it from the petitioner’s stepson. However, the buyer later discovered that the said stepson had no dealings with the defendants.

This case highlights the EFCC’s ongoing efforts to combat land fraud and protect citizens from fraudulent schemes.