FCDA OFFICIAL SENTENCED TO 25 YEARS IN PRISON FOR N19M+ LAND SCAM

Justice A.O. Musa of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court has convicted and sentenced Kingsley Eselebor, a staff member of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), to 25 years’ imprisonment without an option of fine for land racketeering and fraud.
​Delivering judgment on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, the trial judge found Eselebor guilty on all five count charges brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
​The court sentenced him to seven years’ imprisonment each on counts one, two, and three, and two years each on counts four and five. Because the offences stemmed from a single transaction, the prison terms will run concurrently.
​Breach of Trust Between Neighbors
​According to evidence presented during the trial, Eselebor—who worked in the FCDA’s Department of Urban and Regional Planning—leveraged his official position and his relationship as a church member and neighbor to defraud the petitioner, Moses Osinachi.
​Eselebor fraudulently sold two non-existent or disputed plots (Plots 383 and 424 at the Kubwa District Central Annex, Abuja) to Osinachi. To convince the buyer, the convict presented forged conveyance documents bearing the names Yusuf Lawan and Adegoke Asiwaju.
​Trusting Eselebor’s employment status within the urban planning department, Osinachi transferred funds from his company’s account, Moscow International Services Limited, for the purchase.
​The fraud unraveled when the buyer attempted to take physical possession of the land and discovered that Eselebor possessed no valid title. When confronted, Eselebor admitted the properties had rival claimants, made false promises of alternative plots, and subsequently evaded refunds, prompting Osinachi to petition the EFCC.
​EFCC Welcomes Deterrent Judgment
​Reacting to the verdict, the EFCC’s Director of Criminal Litigation and Prosecution counsel, Joshua Saidi, lauded the court’s decision, emphasizing that it sends a stern warning to public servants who exploit institutional trust to perpetrate fraud.
​“This judgment has served as a deterrent to all these land racketeering… fraudsters parading fake documents, defrauding unsuspecting victims,” Saidi stated.
​“You go to land, you want a genuine document, they give you all these fake papers, and at the end of the day, they scam you. You can only imagine how many people he would have scammed if not because of this case.”