Property Developer, Olajide Awosedo Docked For Land Grabbing

MICHAEL AKINOLA

Controversial property developer and politician, Mr. Olajide Awosedo has been slammed with a 26-count charge by the Attorney- General of Lagos State at the Lagos State Special Offences Court, Bolade, Oshodi, Lagos.

According to the charge sheet dated February 16, Awosedo allegedly fraudulently sold some landed properties belonging to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON to 26 unsuspecting buyers in contravention of section 8 (1) (b) of the Lagos State Properties Protection Law, 2016 popularly known as the Land Grabbers’ Law.
If convicted, Awosedo could spend up to 21 years in jail.

Awosedo has been variously described as a serial debtor having been allegedly indebted to nothing less than nine banks in the sum of N22 billion.

It was also alleged that most of Awosedo’s housing projects have failed due to his inability to repay his debt to lenders.

It is also common knowledge that almost all of Awosedo’s projects and personal properties have been seized and taken over by AMCON and banks that lent him money.

He has also been accused of swindling some unsuspecting purchasers of landed properties of millions of Naira to whom he promised to sell land or to build houses he had neither intention nor means to build.

Awosedo, who hails from Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, has also committed huge sums of monies to politics.

In 2011, he had an unsuccessful bid for Governorship seat in Ogun State.

Meanwhile, some figures who seem to have been victims of Awosedo have applauded the decision of the Attorney General of Lagos State to prosecute him.

They have equally call upon the Federal Government to sack Awosedo from serving on the Board of the National Hospital, Abuja with immediate effect.

“To appoint the likes of Awosedo into positions of authority not only sends a signal to the international community that the current administration is not serious about the fight against corruption and might mislead citizens into believing that fraud/crime is rewarded in Nigeria,” one of the source said.