EFCC arraigns man in Maiduguri for alleged N1.6 million land scam

The Maiduguri Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned one Alhaji Abba Umar before Justice Aisha Kumaliya of the Borno State High Court, Maiduguri, over alleged criminal misappropriation of land documents valued at ₦1.6 million.

Umar was arraigned on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, on a one-count charge bordering on dishonestly inducing another person to part with a property document, which he later sold to a third party without the owner’s consent.

According to the EFCC, the defendant, in March 2022, allegedly obtained the title document of a plot of land measuring 450 square meters, located at No. BOTP/178 Abbaganaram Housing Estate in Maiduguri, from one Modu Goni Sheriff. The document, with right of occupancy no. BO/46605/4 dated March 19, 2002, was said to be in the name of Mohammed Goni Umar.

Rather than hold the document in trust, the EFCC said Umar allegedly sold the land to another individual for ₦1.6 million, without delivering the proceeds or the land to the rightful owner.

The charge reads in part:
“That you, Alhaji Abba Umar, sometimes in March, 2022 in Maiduguri, Borno State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, dishonestly induced Modu Goni Sheriff to deliver to you his title document… and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 320 (a) and punishable under Section 322 of the Penal Code Cap 102 Laws of Borno State.”

The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charge when it was read to him in court.

Following his plea, prosecution counsel S.O. Saka requested that the court set a trial date and remand the defendant in custody.

Justice Kumaliya granted the request, ordering that Umar be remanded at the Maiduguri Correctional Centre. The matter was adjourned to June 4, 2025, for commencement of trial.

The EFCC said the case arose after the complainant reported that the defendant betrayed the trust reposed in him by selling the land and refusing to account for the proceeds.

EFCC arraigns man in Maiduguri for alleged N1.6 million land scam