A Lagos High Court sitting at Igbosere has sentenced an estate agent, Babatunde Habeeb, to 1,230 years imprisonment for defrauding accommodation seekers of N28 million.
The convict who bears various names including Babatunde Habeeb and Babatunde Salawudeen is a younger brother to Ishola Salawudeen, a property developer.
Both conspired to dupe 101 prospective tenants of N28 million at 59 Oriola, in Alapere Ketu area of Lagos.
Habeeb was first arraigned before an Ebute-Metta Chief Magistrate’s Court with Ishola Salawudeen in 2013, and was granted bail, but later absconded.
Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye found him guilty of the first count charge and sentenced him to 15 years imprisonment. He then sentenced the defendant to 15 years each for the remain9ng 80 counts was preferred against him.
“The defendants were motivated by greed; they set out to con the victims out of their hard-earned resources. I am satisfied that the convict and his brother acted together in the scam,” said Ipaye.
According to the justice, considering the prevalence of the crime in society, there is a need to send a signal, as crimes like this portray Nigeria in bad light.
“From the overwhelming evidence and testimonies before the court, it was a deliberate ploy to defraud the prospective tenants,” he said.
“The prosecution has been able to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt and I resolve all the issues in the favour of the prosecution.”
The sentence was to run concurrently, starting from March 12, 2014, when he was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
“The property is hereby forfeited to the Federal Government, to be sold and the N28 million refunded to the victims,” Ipaye added.