THE Special Fraud Unit (SFU) of the Nigeria Police has declared former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Alhaja Sinatu Ojikutu, wanted for allegedly defaulting in repayment of N130 million she collected in the sale of a land that did not belong to her.
Following a petition, Ojikutu was declared wanted with her son, Samson Ojikutu, by the SFU in the early hours of yesterday over a “case of obtaining the sum of N130 million by false representation.” The Commissioner of Police in charge of SFU, Mr. Tunde Ogunshakin, who spoke to newsmen through his spokesperson, Ngozi Isintume, confirmed that his office was hunting for the former deputy governor.
A statement by the police on the matter reads: “Upon a petition from the DIG ‘D’ Department to the Commissioner of Police, SFU, the petitioner alleged that in September, 2011, the suspects conspired and sold a parcel of land known as Plot 24 Block 4 situated at Admiralty Way, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos for the sum of N130 million, the money of which he paid into the first suspect’s account with the Union Bank in tranches.”
The petitioner was said to have stated that after payment, he requested for the documents on the land but Ojikutu procured an affidavit of support to back her claim, a police crime extract and a publication in the Vanguard Newspaper of October 18, 2011, all purporting to evidence of loss of the original documents on the land.
“The Petitioner believed her because of her personality as former deputy governor of Lagos State. The bubble bust when the complainant commenced development of the land and was on the verge of completion when the bonafide owner of the land surfaced and indeed it was discovered that the land the suspect sold did not belong to her. She actually sold Plot 23 Block 4 while Plot 24 Block 4 already has a property on it.
“Investigation revealed that the land she sold did not belong to her; the land belongs to one Mr. Afolabi. It was also discovered that the Plot 24 Block 4, which actually belonged to the late Samson Adebisi Ojikutu Snr, the suspect’s husband who died in 2008, was sold by him in 1995 and the suspect was a life witness and appended her signature to the sale of the land,” the police statement reads further.
The former deputy governor was alleged to have further perpetrated the crime by claiming that the original C of O was missing and swore an affidavit which enabled her obtain a Police Report and Memorandum of Loss. She was said to have also put up an advert in newspapers to the effect that the original C of O was lost “whereas the original C of O is with the Hallmark Homes, the buyer of the property.”
She allegedly “connived with her son, Samson, who is currently in USA to commit the fraud. The suspect and her son were parties to the sale of the land and both signed the agreement given to the complainant and obtained the sum of N130 million from him.”
According to the police statement, “she admitted the crime but confessed that it was a genuine mistake of plot identification. She refunded the sum of N50 million to the complainant and promised to refund the balance as soon as she disposed her two properties she put up for sale. She also confessed that she had injected the complainant’s money into her business.”
Isintume added: “She made an undertaking and payment plan which was drawn from September 2012 and was to terminate by November 2012, but she defaulted due to lack of fund. Police further discovered that the suspect is not willing to abide by the terms of repayment. She jumped police bail and has been elusive. Frantic efforts have been made to re-arrest her which proved abortive.”
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