Businessman bags 3 years for forgery, land grabbing

By Vincent Kalu

Lagos businessman, Peter Obinwanne, has been sentenced to three years’ imprisonment by the High Court, Ikeja.

Justice M. A. Dada, Special Offences Court, Ikeja, convicted Obinwanne and his company, Petkev Nigeria Limited, for forgery and land grabbing.

The conviction followed their prosecution for conspiracy, forgery of title documents and the criminal conversion of land belonging to the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) in Lagos.

The court found that in 2004, Obinwanne, through his company, forged title documents, unlawfully converted landed property and remained in illegal occupation for more than 20 years of a parcel of land allocated by the FHA to Elder Ogbogu Kalu of AMSCO Nigeria Limited.

In the judgment, which followed an investigation by officers of the IGP Monitoring Team and a full trial during which officials of the FHA testified as prosecution witnesses, the court sentenced Obinwanne to two years’ imprisonment on counts one and two, one year on count three, and three years each on counts four, five, six, seven, eight and nine.

The sentences are to run concurrently, with an option of a N10 million fine.

The court also fined Petkev Nigeria Limited N1 million on each of the nine counts, payable within 30 days. It ruled that failure to comply would result in the winding up of the company and the forfeiture of all its assets to the Federal Government.

Justice Dada further ordered the defendants to immediately vacate the disputed property and restore possession to Elder Kalu.

Reacting to the judgment, counsel to Elder Kalu and AMSCO Nigeria Limited, Umeh Kalu (SAN), commended the court for what he described as a well-considered judgment.

The senior advocate said the verdict demonstrated that regardless of the tactics employed by lawbreakers or the length of time they remain in unlawful possession of property, justice would ultimately prevail.

He also praised the police investigation team for its professionalism and commended the legal department of the Federal Housing Authority for standing by the truth during the trial.

Also commenting on the judgment, the Managing Director of AMSCO Nigeria Limited, Mr. Okechukwu Kalu, described the verdict as a huge relief to his 86-year-old father and Chairman of AMSCO, Elder Ogbogu Kalu, who had waited patiently for more than two decades to obtain justice.