Couple Gets Another 10 Years in Jail for Fraud

The Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja has sentenced a couple, Harry Uyanwanne and Oluwakemi Odia, also known as Kristein Uyanwanne, to at least 10 years in prison each for fraud involving N67.6 million.

Trial judge Mojisola Dada delivered the judgement on Monday. She also ordered the couple to refund the money to the petitioner, Olusola Odemuyiwa.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) prosecuted the couple on charges of conspiracy, stealing, and obtaining money by false pretence. EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale shared this information in a statement on Monday.

The couple was found not guilty on a separate charge of forgery.

The charges came from the alleged fraudulent sale of a property located at No. 19, Murtala Mohammed Way, Ebute Meta, Oyingbo, Lagos. The property belonged to the estate of the late Moshood Babatunde Odemuyiwa.

Prosecution alleged that the couple sold the property in 2010 for N16 million. They falsely claimed they had permission from the estate’s beneficiaries to sell it.

According to the EFCC, the couple knew they had no such authority but acted as if they were allowed to sell the property.

The couple pleaded not guilty to the charges during the trial. The prosecution, led by counsel Fadeke Giwa, called three witnesses and presented several documents. The defense brought one witness to the stand.

In her judgement, Ms Dada stated that the prosecution proved its case without reasonable doubt.

She sentenced the couple to three years for conspiracy, one year for stealing, and 10 years for obtaining money by false pretence, without the option of fine.

The EFCC’s statement did not clarify if the judge ordered the sentences to run together or separately. If the sentences run separately, the couple would serve 14 years. If they run together, they would serve 10 years.

The statement mentioned that the judge suspended Uyanwanne’s sentence until he is caught.

This is not the first time the couple has faced the law for fraud. In December 2024, the same court sentenced Mr Uyanwanne to 10 years and Ms Odia to six years for a different N52 million fraud involving the sale of a property in Magodo, Lagos. Those sentences were ordered to run together.

In that earlier case, the court also closed and deregistered Temple International Church, which was a co-defendant. The couple was directed to pay N31 million in restitution to the complainant.