The Ilorin Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested three lawyers for alleged illegal acquisition and sale of a property belonging to Mr Adetunji Adedoyin, valued at about N20 million.

The accused lawyers are Salman Rafiu, Sulyman Abaya and Saka Hammed. Two others, namely, Olarewaju Aluko and Mr Na’Allah Suyuti, are currently at large.

EFCC Head, Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, said Wednesday in a statement: “Adedoyin alleged in a petition that the suspects fraudulently obtained a court judgment with which they claimed and sold his property without his knowledge and consent.

“In getting the judgement, the suspects ensured that their victim, the petitioner did not get summons, but went ahead and provided defence lawyers for him without his knowledge or consent and with whom he never had any discussion.”

Uwujaren quoted Adedoyin as saying: “I was informed that I was served summons all through the court proceedings, whereas it was R.A Salman who put up his colleagues: Abaya Sulyman and Saka Hammed to stand for me and these lawyers forged my signature on some documents purporting my consent in court to the sale of my hostel.

“The truth of the matter is that I never set my eyes on these people (lawyers) prior to or during the court proceedings, neither did I participate directly or indirectly in the proceedings. I also was not aware of the proceedings from the beginning to the end.”

The petitioner further explained that he had to pay the sum of N4.2 million to the buyer, Mr Na’Allah, in order to recover his stolen property, but “the hostel was taken over again in March 2019 by Mr Na’Allah through his lawyer, Aluko Olarewaju, on the grounds that I have not paid the outstanding balance.”

The suspects, according to EFCC, “denied the allegations of forgery against them during their interrogation by the operatives of the EFCC, disowning the affidavit they fabricated, which they claimed in court, the petitioner signed.”

The anti-graft watchdog assured that efforts are on-going to arrest the fleeing accomplices in the alleged crime.

In another development, EFCC Acting Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, has disclosed that the agency is collating comprehensive data on the Nigerians indicted in the recently busted money laundering and cybercrime offences in the United States.

80 suspects, most of whom were Nigerians, were allegedly involved in the crimes investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, in the U.S.

Magu, who spoke through the Head of the Ibadan zonal office, Friday Ebelo, during a press conference in Ibadan, Oyo State, said the massive data collection was part of the collaborative activities between the EFCC and FBI to ensure that criminal elements are exposed and made to pay for their crimes.

Journalists in attendance at the event were held spellbound when Ebelo took them through the intricate connections between the local Yahoo Boys and their offshore criminal collaborators.

According to him, the essence the data mining exercise was to established any form of relationship the indicted individuals may have with Nigeria-based suspects, and how this could help in furthering the fight against economic and financial crimes in the country.

He said some of the information earlier collected have led to the arrest of many internet fraudsters, adding that one of the kingpins was nabbed during a recent raid in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.

The kingpin Ajayi Gbenga Festus, he added, was found to be deeply involved in many internet-related frauds from which he had benefited up to N75 million in the last eight months.

“We were able to establish a number of illicit transactions through his Nigerian bank account amounting to over N223 million. Ajayi serves as conduit pipe through which proceeds of crime reach members of the syndicate,” he stated.

Ebelo also disclosed that in the course of the year, the zone arrested 263 suspects for cybercrimes. Of this number, 111 were convicted.

Apart from landed properties, vehicles, laptops and other valuables forfeited on the order of court, huge sums of money in local and foreign currencies traced to internet fraud were also recovered.