Court Fixes April 15 To Hear Alleged Fraud Case Against Oak Homes CEO, Olukayode Olusanya
A Lagos division of the Federal High Court of Nigeria has fixed April 15, 2025 for trial in the fraud case against the Chief Executive Officer, CEO, of Oak Homes Limited, Olukayode Olusanya.
The court presided by Justice Musa Kakaki fixed the date after hearing arguments from both the prosecution and defence counsel over the admissibility of Olusanya’s statement and a petition against him.
Olusanya and his company are facing four count-charge brought against them by the police, bordering on conspiracy, threat to life, obtaining money by false pretense and stealing.
The CEO was arraigned on November 26, 2024, but pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The police alleged that Olusanya conspired with Lynda Umeh, the company’s head of sales and marketing, who is currently at large, to defraud a Nigerian-American engineer, Anthony Ugbebor.
According to the police, between November 8, 2017 and August 4, 2020, the duo deceived Ugbebor into paying N152 million for two units of three-bedroom apartments at the Oak Residence, Victoria Island.
The police further alleged Olusanya and Umeh promised to hand over possession of the apartment to Ugbebor by February 28, 2019 but they failed to deliver the property.
Police prosecution counsel, M.A. Omo-Osagie, equally alleged that Olusanya stole the funds and later conspired to murder Ugbebor for reporting him to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and other authorities.
During the hearing on February 11, 2025, Omo-Osagie called the first prosecution witness, Assistant Superintendent of Police Egho Amiebelomo.
In his testimony, the officer said the police received a petition from Ugbebor, which led to an investigation.
According to Amiebelomo, Olusanya initially refused to cooperate with police inquiries, claiming the Assistant Inspector General’s office was “too small” for him.
Amiebelomo said Olusanya was eventually arrested at his office and later released on bail. He, however, absconded for months before being re-arrested and brought to court.
The attempt by the prosecution to submit Olusanya’s statement and the complainant’s petition as evidence was opposed by defence counsel, Agboola Adeleke, SAN, who argued that the statement was not taken in the presence of a lawyer or video-recorded, as required under Section 9 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act.
Prosecution counsel Omo-Osagie countered that the defence’s objection was misplaced, citing Section 15(4) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, which allows for statements to be recorded with or without video evidence.
The prosecutor further argued that the petition was a public document and, therefore, admissible in court.
“Sections 100-104 of the Evidence Act 2011, particularly Section 103, stipulate that any document in the possession of a public officer is a public document,” Omo-Osagie stated.
“The petition originated from a private citizen but was officially received and acted upon by the AIG, with official stamps and directives. That makes it a public document, admissible under the law.
“The key question here is whether this document is relevant to the trial of the defendant. Since it is, we urge the court to dismiss the objections raised by the defence and admit the evidence,” he added.
The case was adjourned to April 15, 2025, for ruling on the objections and continuation of trial.
