Lawyer allegedly forges documents, lands in court
The police in FCT, Abuja, on Thursday arraigned a lawyer, Clifford Eze, who allegedly forged a landed property document to defraud another man of N1 million.
Eze, a Maitama, Abuja, resident, appeared before an FCT High Court at Apo on a six-count charge bordering on cheating, breach of trust, forgery and issuance of dud cheques.
The prosecutor, Mr Patrick Ogbele, told the court that Eze and others at large, fraudulently collected N1 million from one Mr Asekun Adedoyin on April 16.
He said that the lawyer collected the sum on the pretext of selling a plot of land to Adedoyin.
Ogbele said that the land, situated at Jikwoyi, Abuja, did not belong to the lawyer.
According to him, the lawyer forged a letter of offer of terms of grant/conveyance of approval, deed of conveyance and power of attorney.
He added that the lawyer presented the letter as genuine to Adedoyin and converted the N1 million for his personal use.
The prosecutor also said Eze issued two Diamond Bank cheques of N500, 000 to Adedoyin which were not honoured due to insufficient funds.
He said that the offences contravened Sections 97, 322, 312, 322, 364 and 366 of the Penal Code.
The lawyer, however, pleaded not guilty, and was granted bail by Justice Abubakar Idris-Kutigi in the sum of N300, 000 with one surety in like sum.
The judge said that the surety must be a civil servant of Grade Level 8 and above.
He adjourned the case until Nov. 14 for substantive hearing.(NAN).
