Lagos Court Jails Couple Over ₦67.6m Property Fraud
Justice Mojisola Dada convicts Harry Uyanwanne and Oluwakemi Odia on three charges and orders them to refund the full amount, while discharging them on forgery
A Lagos State Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja has convicted Harry Uyanwanne and his wife, Oluwakemi Odia, also known as Kristein Uyanwanne, over a ₦67.66 million property fraud case, sentencing them to prison terms and ordering full restitution to the petitioner.
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Justice Mojisola Dada delivered the judgment on Monday, November 2, 2026, after finding the defendants guilty of conspiracy, stealing and obtaining money by false pretence in a case prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Lagos Zonal Directorate 1.
The court also ordered the couple to refund the full sum of ₦67,659,592 to the petitioner, Olusola Odemuyiwa. However, they were discharged on a fourth count bordering on forgery.
According to the prosecution, the case arose from the alleged fraudulent sale of a property belonging to beneficiaries of the estate of late Dr Moshood Babatunde Odemuyiwa.
The property, identified as Plot 19, Murtala Mohammed Way, Ebute Meta, Oyingbo, Lagos, was allegedly sold in 2010 for ₦16 million.
One of the charges accused the defendants of falsely representing that they had authorisation from the legitimate beneficiaries of the late Odemuyiwa’s estate to sell the property.
The charge specifically alleged that Uyanwanne and Odia knowingly made the false representation to facilitate the transaction with a buyer identified as Harry Dyawanne.
The EFCC prosecuted the couple on a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy, stealing, obtaining money by false pretence and forgery. Both defendants had pleaded not guilty when they were arraigned.
During the trial, prosecution counsel, Fadeke Giwa, called three witnesses and tendered several documentary exhibits in support of the case, while the defence called one witness.
Delivering her judgment, Justice Dada held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, leading to the conviction of both defendants on the first three counts.
The judge imposed three years’ imprisonment for conspiracy, one year for stealing and 10 years for obtaining money by false pretence, without an option of fine.
The EFCC’s account described the aggregate punishment as 14 years for each defendant.
However, it did not clarify whether the sentences were ordered to run concurrently or consecutively, a distinction that affects the actual time to be served.
Justice Dada further ordered that Uyanwanne’s sentence be suspended until he is apprehended. The direction means his imprisonment is to take effect upon his arrest.
The latest conviction is not the couple’s first encounter with the court over fraud-related offences.
In December 2024, the same court sentenced Uyanwanne to 10 years’ imprisonment and Odia to six years over a separate ₦52 million fraud case involving the alleged fraudulent sale of a property in Magodo, Lagos.
In that earlier case, Justice Dada also ordered the deregistration and closure of Temple International Church, which was prosecuted alongside the couple, and directed them to pay ₦31 million in restitution to the complainant.
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The latest judgment adds another conviction to the couple’s record and reinforces the legal consequences of unlawfully disposing of property belonging to deceased persons’ estates.
