Lagos Court Jails Mortgage Banker 20 Years for ₦31m Property Fraud
Justice I. O. Ijelu delivered the judgment on Monday, August 25, 2025, after finding Gbajabiamila guilty on a seven-count charge bordering on stealing, obtaining money under false pretences, forgery, using false documents, and retention of proceeds of crime.
Gbajabiamila was first arraigned on September 19, 2023, by the Lagos Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He had pleaded not guilty to all charges, prompting a full trial.
One of the charges stated that in 2021, Gbajabiamila dishonestly converted ₦31 million belonging to one Lateef Ayo Adeyemo, while another accused him of forging a ₦10 million Sterling Bank manager’s cheque in favour of STB Building Society Limited.
During the trial, prosecution counsel Abdulhamid L. Tukur presented two witnesses and tendered several documents which were admitted in evidence against the defendant.
Delivering judgment, Justice Ijelu sentenced Gbajabiamila to:
5 years imprisonment on count one (stealing), with an option of ₦1 million fine;
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7 years imprisonment on count two (obtaining by false pretences);
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2 years each on counts three, four, and five (forgery), with an option of ₦1 million fine per count;
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2 years imprisonment on count six (using false documents), with an option of ₦200,000 fine; and
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4 years imprisonment on count seven (retention of proceeds of crime), with an option of ₦500,000 fine.
The sentences are to run concurrently, amounting to 20 years behind bars.
Gbajabiamila’s ordeal began after he was introduced to Adeyemo by an estate agent, identified as Lukman. Investigations revealed that Adeyemo paid him ₦31 million for a two-bedroom flat at Lagos Homes, Iponri, but the banker diverted the funds for personal use and failed to deliver the property.
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