Operatives of the Enugu Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have arrested a man, Ifeanyi Mba, over an alleged N10m land fraud.
The anti-graft agency disclosed the arrest in a statement shared on its official X handle on Monday.
According to the commission, the suspect was arrested following a petition from a victim who claimed to have paid the sum for a piece of land that later turned out to be problematic.
The EFCC stated, “The suspect was arrested following claims of a petitioner alleging that he paid the suspect the said sum for a piece of land located at Plot 677 Owo/Premier Layout, Ogui Nike community in Enugu State, only to find out that the land was being developed by unknown persons.”
The petitioner reportedly contacted the suspect after discovering that the land was already under development.
“According to the petitioner, when he contacted the suspect regarding the development, he said he was informed that the said property was government owned,” the EFCC added.
The commission said further attempts by the victim to recover the money were unsuccessful as the suspect allegedly became unreachable.
“Subsequently, all efforts made by the petitioner to recover his money proved abortive as the suspect remained incommunicado,” the statement noted.
Preliminary investigations by the commission revealed that the land description provided by the suspect did not exist in government-acquired layouts.
The EFCC explained that there was no layout bearing Plot 677 Owo/Premier within government-acquired areas, adding that Owo and Premier are two different layouts.
The anti-graft agency said the suspect would be charged to court upon the completion of investigations.
The arrest is part of ongoing efforts by the Enugu Zonal Directorate to tackle fraud-related offences in the state.
