A Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja has sentenced an FCDA staff member to 25 years for defrauding a land buyer. Because the sentences run concurrently, the term he is likely to serve is seven.
Both numbers are in the same judgment. That is worth understanding before you buy land in Abuja.
What happened
Kinsley Eselebor worked in the Federal Capital Development Authority’s Department of Urban and Regional Planning. He sold two plots – Plots 383 and 424 at Kubwa District Central Annex – to Moses Osinachi, without having valid title to transfer.
The buyer and the seller were neighbours who worshipped at the same church. That relationship, and Eselebor’s employment at the FCDA, strengthened the buyer’s confidence. It is how this kind of fraud usually works: not a stranger with a website, but someone whose position and familiarity substitute for a search.
Eselebor produced two conveyance documents bearing the names Yusuf Lawan and Adegoke Asiwaju to show the plots were genuine. When the buyer asked for further confirmation, he was assured the documents were valid – on the strength of the seller’s FCDA position.
The transaction collapsed when the buyer tried to take possession and found there was no valid title to transfer. Confronted, Eselebor admitted knowing the plots had rival claimants and promised alternative plots. He did not deliver them, and the refund did not come.
The sentence, read properly
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Court | FCT High Court, Abuja – Justice A.O. Musa |
| Date | 28 October 2026 |
| Counts | 5 – obtaining money under false pretences; using forged documents as genuine |
| Per count | 7 years (counts 1–3) + 2 years (counts 4–5) |
| Total if served consecutively | 25 years |
| Ordered to run | Concurrently – so the operative term is the longest single sentence: 7 years |
| Fine | None available – no option of fine |
This is not a criticism of the court. Concurrent sentencing is normal where offences arise from the same transaction, and “no option of fine” is a real penalty. But the headline “25 years” and the sentence served are different things, and buyers should know which one the offender actually faces.
Five years to get a conviction
The charge was filed in March 2021. Judgment came on 28 October 2026 – about five years and seven months later. Along the way it was amended from three counts to five.
For a defrauded buyer, that is the practical cost of the remedy: years of litigation, and no automatic refund at the end of it. The criminal conviction does not return the purchase money. That requires a separate civil claim.
What the case teaches a land buyer
Employment is not title. Working at the FCDA, or any lands bureau, gives someone knowledge and access. It does not give them a plot to sell. Verify the title at the registry, independent of whoever is selling to you.
Read the names on the documents. The conveyance papers named Yusuf Lawan and Adegoke Asiwaju – not the seller. If the person selling you land is not the person on the title, that is the moment to stop and ask why, in writing.
Rival claimants are discoverable. The plots had other claimants. A proper search at the Abuja land registry would have surfaced them; the buyer learned it by trying to take possession.
Familiarity is the fraud’s mechanism, not a substitute for checks. Neighbour, church member, colleague – none of it is evidence of title. The more comfortable the relationship, the more it is worth insisting on an independent search.
Buy through a lawyer who searches, not one who witnesses. The value a conveyancing lawyer adds is the search and the investigation of title, not the signing ceremony.
What is not established
The report does not state how much money was transferred, whether any of it has been recovered, or whether a civil claim is running alongside the criminal case.
It also does not say whether the forged documents were created by the convict or obtained from elsewhere, or what happened to the rival claimants’ interest in the plots.
The reading of the sentence as an effective seven years follows the report’s statement that the terms run concurrently. If the court’s certified record says otherwise, the operative term would differ.
Frequently asked questions
How long will the FCDA officer actually serve?
On the report as published, seven years – the longest of the concurrent terms. The 25-year figure is the sum of the five sentences added together.
What were the plots?
Plots 383 and 424, Kubwa District Central Annex, Abuja. The seller had no valid title to transfer them.
Does a criminal conviction get a defrauded buyer their money back?
No. A criminal case punishes the offence. Recovering the purchase price requires a civil claim, which is separate and can take as long.
How do I check a plot in Abuja before buying?
Search the title at the FCT land registry, confirm the name on the title matches the seller, and have your lawyer investigate for rival claimants – not just confirm the documents look genuine.
Last updated: 29 October 2026. The conviction, sentence, five counts, plot numbers, document names, parties and case timeline are from BusinessDay’s report of 29 October 2026, covering the FCT High Court judgment of 28 October 2026. The effective-term calculation applies the report’s statement that the sentences run concurrently; the sum of the individual terms is 25 years. Not legal advice.
