Court jails FCDA official 25 years for Land racketeering

Justice A.O. Musa of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT High Court, Abuja, has convicted and sentenced a staff member of the Federal Capital Development Authority, FCDA, Kinsley Eselebor, to 25 years’ imprisonment for obtaining money under false pretences and using forged documents to defraud a land buyer.

A statement issued by the EFCC says the judge delivered the judgment on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, after finding Eselebor guilty on all five counts charges brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

The court sentenced the convict to seven years’ imprisonment each on counts one, two and three, and two years each on counts four and five, with all sentences to run concurrently and without an option of fine.

The prosecution established that Eselebor, an employee of the FCDA’s Department of Urban and Regional Planning, defrauded Moses Osinachi of money paid for two plots of land at Kubwa District Central Annex, Abuja.

The properties, identified as Plots 383 and 424, were presented to the petitioner as genuine, despite Eselebor’s lack of title to sell them.

The charge was initially filed in March 2021 with three counts of obtaining money under false pretences. It was later amended to five counts, with counts one to three relating to obtaining money under false pretences and counts four and five concerning the use of forged documents as genuine to convince the petitioner of the authenticity of the land.

The court found Eselebor guilty on all five counts and imposed the respective prison terms, directing that they run concurrently because the offences arose from the same transaction.

The court, however, ruled that the prison terms will run concurrently.