The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has apprehended Alhassan Garba for allegedly orchestrating multiple land fraud schemes in Kaduna State.
EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale disclosed the arrest in a statement issued Friday in Abuja, revealing that the suspect posed as an estate agent while defrauding numerous victims.
According to Oyewale, Garba’s fraudulent activities typically left victims devastated. “In one of such cases, the suspect allegedly sold a piece of land to his victim at the sum of N14.5 million after which the victim discovered that the documents were forged and that the land did not belong to the suspect,” Oyewale stated.
Investigations revealed the victim transferred payments into a UBA account linked to Garba, with N900,000 going directly to the suspect and N8.8 million routed to a company account.
The EFCC detailed another incident from October 2020, where Garba allegedly conspired with accomplices to sell non-existent land in Tsaunin Kura G.R.A, Sabonn Tasha.
“As the victim showed interest to buy the land, Garba, alongside his accomplice and Khalid visited the victim in his office where N8 million was agreed as price for the land,” Oyewale explained.
The victim paid N7,802,000 into a Zenith Bank account and an additional N198,000 cash to Garba, only to later discover the land belonged to someone else.
A separate case reported to EFCC’s Kaduna office on January 23, 2023, involved Garba and five others allegedly selling N32 million worth of plots using fake title documents in March 2018. In 2022, the suspect reportedly defrauded another victim of N2 million for land along Yusuf Hamisu Road, Mahuta Igabi LGA, which he didn’t own.
Oyewale noted Garba had previously jumped administrative bail before being rearrested on August 12 at his Kabala Costain hideout along Maiduguri Road, Kaduna.
“He will be arraigned in court as soon as investigations are concluded in any of the cases involving him,” the EFCC spokesperson affirmed.