The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has returned a hefty N125 million to a Lagos businessman, Akinsewa Akiode, after recovering the sum from a suspect in a tangled land fraud case. The anti-graft agency made the announcement on Friday through its Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, confirming that officials from the EFCC’s Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 in Ikoyi presented the funds to Akiode on Thursday, following the wrap-up of their investigations.
The whole saga began with a petition from Akiode, who claimed that one Olufemi Fashehun took N125 million from him for a 550-square-metre plot of land at No. 10, Kudirat Abiola Way, Oregun, Lagos. But here is the twist: after sealing the deal, the businessman discovered the property had been stuck in legal battles since 2011. That messy history, the EFCC found, was something Fashehun conveniently left out before pocketing the cash.
Digging deeper, the commission’s sleuths uncovered that Fashehun had actually been served multiple court orders, including injunctions barring him from any construction on the land. Still, he kept quiet about the ongoing litigation and went ahead with the sale. The result? Akiode ended up losing both the land and the structures he had started building, which pushed him to knock on the EFCC’s door for help.
After a thorough investigation, the EFCC said it managed to claw back the full N125 million from the suspect and returned it to the petitioner through Sterling Bank drafts.
This restitution is part of a broader pattern of recoveries by the commission in recent times. Just over two weeks earlier, the EFCC gave back N108 million recovered from an alleged fraud involving two former employees of Greenwich Planet Sun King Nigeria Limited. And back in October 2025, the agency handed over three houses, two vehicles, and N1.1 million to a victim in Ibadan, after a Federal High Court ordered the forfeiture of assets belonging to a convicted fraudster.
During the handover ceremony, the Acting Zonal Director of the EFCC’s Lagos Zonal Directorate 2, Bawa Kaltungo, doubled down on the commission’s promise to dig into economic and financial crimes, chase down illicit gains, and make sure victims get their due whenever possible.
One thing the EFCC left hanging, though, is whether Fashehun will face criminal charges over the allegedly fraudulent deal. No word on that front just yet.
