Ex-defendant introduced alleged fake land papers to my sister – Witness tells court

Wed, Mar 3, 2021
By editor
3 MIN READ

Judiciary

A defence witness, Taiye Atolagbe, on Wednesday told an FCT High Court Kubwa that a former defendant, Olubenga Adewale who was discharged and acquitted, presented the alleged fake land papers to her sister, Victoria Adelana.

The EFCC charged Adelana and the three others on 24 counts bordering on forgery and conspiracy.

Being led in evidence by the defence counsel,  Melchizedek Zaro, Atolagbe, said that said the complainant, a former House of Representatives member, Chinenye Ike, was a family friend.

”The defendant is my sister and I used to be her personal assistant. Adewale who has been discharged and acquitted in this case introduced the said land at Kugbo extension to her and she paid for it in her name.

” The defendant told the complainant about the plot of land and she gave the land documents to him to make his findings. The papers were with him for a month, ” Atolagbe said.

She said that the complainant (Ike) indicated his interest in the plots of land and later paid N14 million in 2011.

“The defendant and I gave the filled forms back to Adewale to do a change in name and return the papers in the complainant’s name, ” she said.

The witness alleged that years later the defendant called her, saying that the complainant was no longer interested in the land because of its high cost.

She said the defendant sent her to the complainant’s office to pick up the land papers to sell to someone else.

The witness said the complainant however refused to release the papers.

”The complainant said her sister will be sent to jail if she does not pay him his money back.

“After the threat, I heard that the complainant had reported the matter to the EFCC. I later told that the said polts of land were fake, ” she said.

The EFCC counsel, Olanrewaju Adeola, prayed for an adjournment to consult with the nominal complainant because he has never met the defence witness before.

”I need to consult with the complainant before cross-examining the defence witness,” the EFCC counsel said.

Justice Kezziah Ogbonnaya, adjourned the matter until March 4, for cross-examination.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Adewale was discharged and acquitted by the court in February 2020.

Adelana was said to have defrauded the complainant to the tune of N14million under the pretext of purchasing a plot of land from him in Kugbo Extension , Abuja in 2011. ( NAN)

-Mar 3, 2021 @ 2;35pm

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