Agent dupes home seekers N7m, bags 3yrs jail

A 48-year-old real estate agent, Femi Alabi, Wednesday bagged three years imprisonment for defrauding 21 accommodation seekers of N6.9m.

He was sentenced by Justice Kudirat Jose of an Ikeja High court after he pleaded guilty to the offences at his re-arraignment. The convict was re-arraigned alongside one Lateef Azeez by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, after they had entered a plea bargain agreement with the antigraft agency.

However, Azeez is yet to be sentenced by the court.

According to EFCC counsel, Mr. M.S. Usman,the convict had, in 2011, conspired with Azeez to commit the offences between November 2011 and March 2012. Usman said they obtained various sums of money from 21 prospective tenants under the guise of securing accommodation for them.

He said their victims included Alhaja Ololade Hija; Mr. Akeem Olawole; Miss Dupe Ajayi; Mr. Samuel Daniel; Mr. Tochukwu Onyekwere; Mr. Sunday Eze and Mr. Vincent Aneke, among others.

The victims were said to have sought accommodation from Usman at 62, Brickfield Road, Ebute Metta (West), Lagos which contained various units of apartments.

The court convicted Alabi of the 27-count charge of conspiracy and obtaining money by false pretences preferred against him.

According to Justice Jose, the convict had inflicted untold hardship on the victims and callously deprived them of their hard-earned money with a false promise of accommodation.

The judge thereafter sentenced him to three years imprisonment on each count which is to run concurrently beginning from October 12.

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