Ondo anti-graft agency arraigns lawyer over alleged N50m land fraud, forgery

A Magistrate’s Court sitting in Akure, Ondo State, has arraigned a lawyer, Thompson Akinyemi, over alleged conspiracy and forgery in connection with a disputed property valued at N50 million.

Akinyemi, a former chairman of a branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in the state, was arraigned by the Ondo State Public Complaints, Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Commission (SPFACC) on a two-count charge.

The Ondo SPFACC said two other suspects allegedly linked to the N50 million land fraud and forgery case involving lawyer Thompson Akinyemi are still at large.

The commission alleged that Akinyemi and the other suspects conspired on June 3, 2024, at Ore, within the Ore Magisterial District, to forge a land sale agreement and purchase receipt with the intention of defrauding the rightful owners of the property.

The disputed property, located at Showboy Junction along the Benin-Lagos Expressway, Ore, was allegedly owned by the late Pa Samuel Oladele Ajero.

SPFACC alleged that Akinyemi and another suspect, identified as Adefusi, subsequently sold the property in July 2024 for N50 million.

The commission further alleged that the suspects forged the signature of the deceased on the land sale agreement while he was receiving treatment at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife.

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According to the prosecution, the document was also allegedly backdated to create the impression that the deceased had executed it before he fell ill and later died.

The charge read in part: “That you, Thompson Akinyemi and two others now at large, sometime on June 3, 2024, at Ore, Ondo State, within the Ore Magisterial District, did conspire to commit felony, to wit: forgery of sale of land agreement and purchase receipt dated June 3, 2024.”

The second count alleged that the defendant and the other suspects forged the signature of the late Ajero as the vendor on the purported land sale agreement and purchase receipt.

The offences were said to contravene Sections 1(1), 516 and 467 of the Criminal Code, Cap. 37, Volume 1, Laws of Ondo State, 2006.

Akinyemi pleaded not guilty to the two counts and, following his plea, his counsel, led by Banjo Ayenakin, urged the court to grant him bail on liberal terms.

Magistrate Taiwo Lebi granted the defendant bail on self-recognition, taking into consideration his standing as a legal practitioner in the state and the court; however, he adjourned the case until November 20, 2026, for trial.

Speaking after the proceedings, officials of SPFACC said the commission had been investigating the case involving the late Ajero for some time.

The commission disclosed that its investigation also covered some bank officials and a man identified as Tunde, who allegedly claimed to be the last-born of the deceased.

SPFACC said further arrests and arraignments would be made as the investigation progresses.