Tuesday, November 3, 2026 - A Lagos court has sentenced a couple, Harry Uyanwanne and Oluwakemi Odia, also known as Kristein Uyanwanne, to 14 years' imprisonment each for a N67.6 million property fraud.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC,
disclosed this in a statement, saying Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special
Offences Court sitting in Ikeja delivered the judgement on Monday, November 2,
2026.
The court also ordered the defendants to refund the full sum
of N67,659,592 to the petitioner, Olusola Odemuyiwa.
The couple were prosecuted by the EFCC Lagos Zonal
Directorate 1 on a four-count charge of conspiracy, stealing, obtaining money
by false pretence and forgery. They pleaded not guilty at their arraignment.
During the trial, prosecution counsel, Fadeke Giwa, called
three witnesses and tendered several documents, while the defence called one
witness.
In her judgement, Justice Dada held that the prosecution had
proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and convicted the defendants on the
first three counts. However, she discharged them on the fourth count, bordering
on forgery.
The judge sentenced them to three years' imprisonment each
for conspiracy, one year for stealing and 10 years for obtaining money by false
pretence, without an option of a fine.
She also ordered that the first defendant's sentence be
suspended until he is apprehended.
One of the charges accused the couple of falsely claiming
they had authority to sell a property belonging to the beneficiaries of the
estate of the late Dr Moshood Babatunde Odemuyiwa.
The count read that, "Kemi Odia and Harry Uyanwanne
(a.k.a Ben Ololorma) sometime in 2010 at Lagos within the jurisdiction of this
Honourable court by false pretence and intent to defraud sold the property
known as No. 19 Murtala Mohammed Way, Ebute Meta, Oyingbo Lagos to one Harry
Dyawanne for the sum of Sixteen Million Naira N16,000,000.00) on the false
pretence representation that you were authorised to sell the property by the
Bonalde Beneficiaries of the Estate of Late Dr Moshood Babatunde Odemuyiwa, which
representation you knew was false."
The prosecution alleged that the couple conspired in 2010 to
dishonestly take possession of property belonging to beneficiaries of the late
Odemuyiwa's estate, contrary to Section 285(1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos
State, Nigeria, 2011.
It further alleged that they sold Plot 19, Murtala Mohammed
Way, Ebute Meta, Oyingbo, Lagos, to Harry Dyawanne for N16 million, falsely
claiming that they had authorisation from the estate's legitimate beneficiaries
to sell the property.
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