Court Jails Emmanuel Obiajulu Over $850,000 Fraud in Lagos

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured the conviction of Obiajulu Emeka Emmanuel, who was sentenced to one year imprisonment by the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja over a fraud involving $850,000.

This was disclosed in a statement issued on Monday by the agency on X.

The judgment was delivered by Justice Ismail Ijelu on March 9, 2026, after the court found Emmanuel guilty of offences bordering on obtaining by false pretence, forgery and retention of stolen property.

According to the commission, Emmanuel’s road to imprisonment began when a petitioner,  Taeko Omomo, entered into a business with him to establish a company known as First Unspeakable Grace Ltd for the purpose of acquiring land and developing properties for profitable sales.

“The Omomo transferred a total sum of $850,000 to Emmanuel to facilitate the acquisition of the properties.  The convict neither acquired the properties nor returned the petitioner’s funds to her,” the agency stated

The defendant was first arraigned by the EFCC’s Lagos Zonal Directorate 1, Ikoyi, on November 10, 2025, on a 21-count charge under the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006 and the Criminal Law of Lagos State.

One of the charges reads: “That you, OBIAJULU EMEKA EMMANUEL, sometime between the 4th of January, 2018, and the 17th of December, 2018, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, dishonestly converted to your own use the aggregate sum of N12,330,423.90 property of Taeko Omomo.”

Another charge reads: “That you, OBIAJULU EMEKA EMMANUEL, sometime between the 7th of January, 2019, and the 27th of December, 2019, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did dishonestly convert to your own use the aggregate sum of N8,697,505.89 property of Taeko Omomo.”

During the trial, prosecution counsel C. C. Okezie presented several documents, which were admitted into evidence by the court.

She also informed the court that the EFCC had earlier secured a final forfeiture order before Justice Chukwujekwu Joseph Aneke of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi for three properties belonging to the defendant, which were forfeited in favour of the victim, Taeko Omomo.

The commission later amended the charges from 21 counts to seven counts, and Emmanuel was re-arraigned on March 5, 2026.

Upon the fresh arraignment, the defendant changed his plea from not guilty to guilty. Justice Ijelu subsequently held that the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt and convicted the defendant.

The court sentenced Emmanuel to one year imprisonment, effective from March 9, 2026, and ordered him to pay a fine of N1 million within 30 days.

The court also upheld the forfeiture of the three properties to the victim, in line with the earlier order of the Federal High Court, and directed the defendant to undertake to be of good behaviour before the EFCC.