Police Arraign Estate Agents For N800m Property Fraud

The police in Lagos have arraigned two men, Mshelia Silas and Sabo Jimeta, before the Federal High Court over their alleged involvement in N800 million property fraud.

Silas and Jimeta were docked before the court alongside a limited liability company, Jitau Investment Limited, by the officers of the Police Special Fraud Unit (PSFU) on a six-count charge of conspiracy, fraud and unlawful conversation of funds.

The prosecutor, Emmanuel Jackson, told the trial judge, Justice Nicholas Oweibo, that the defendants committed the offences alongside Albert Atiwurcha, Nanda Ezekiel and J &J Holding Villa Limited, now at large.

Jackson, the officer in charge of PSFU’s Legal Department, told the judge yesterday that the defendants, allegedly conspired and fraudulently sold property at 3 Bunu Sheriff Crescent, Katampe Extension, Abuja, for the sum of N800 million.

The police counsel claimed that the property belonged to one Abubakar Baba Zango and that after selling off the property, the defendants diverted the proceeds into two bank accounts, belonging to Jitau Investment Limited and J and J Holding Villa Ltd, different from the one nominated by the owner of the property, Abubakar Baba Zango.

He also told the court that the offences committed by the defendants contravened sections 1(3) and 1(i)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act No. 14 of 2006.

He maintained that the offences violated section 15(2)(b) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011, as Amended in 2012.

The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to them by the court registrar.

Based on their pleas, the defence lawyer, Chief Joe-Kyari Gadzama (SAN), told the court that his clients bail applications had been filed and served on the prosecution.

While moving the applications, Gadzama informed the court that the first defendant, Silas, was earlier granted administrative bail by the police and that he voluntarily returned to the police station on Monday to be arraigned yesterday.

He also insisted that his clients are entitled to bail and that the case before the court involves a civil contract between parties.

In opposing the applications, Jackson told the court that though the police granted the defendants administrative bail, it took the police extra efforts to rearrest them and bring them before the court for arraignment.

He told the court to discountenance the arguments of the learned Silk that the matter was purely a civil one, rather the nitty-gritty of the case was a criminal one which informed their arraignment.

In his ruling on the application, Justice Oweibo admitted the defendants to bail in the sum of N500 million each with one surety in like sum.

The judge also directed that the surety must be a property owner within Lagos, and the property must be worth the bail sum.

He also ordered that the surety provides evidence of tax payments for the last three years.

Justice Oweibo while adjourning the matter to June 21 for trial, ordered that the defendants be remanded in the custody of the police till the perfection of the bail conditions.