The Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to take Abuja-based realtor Rebecca Godwin-Isaac into custody and produce her in court on Thursday for the continuation of her trial over alleged land fraud.
Trial judge Joyce Abdulmalik gave the order after Mrs Godwin-Isaac failed to appear in court for the continuation of the criminal proceedings against her.
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At the resumed proceedings, EFCC lawyer, Benedict Ubi, told the court that the defendant was under a “self-imposed house arrest” following an interim forfeiture order issued over a disputed property.
Mr Ubi stated that Mrs Godwin-Isaac was obstructing EFCC officials from executing the court’s order and had also breached the conditions of her administrative bail by repeatedly travelling outside the jurisdiction of the court.
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But her lawyer, Christopher Oshomeghie, who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), gave a different account.
He told the court that EFCC operatives had laid siege to his client’s Guzape residence for 23 days, effectively preventing her from leaving the property.
Mr Oshomeghie explained that Mrs Godwin-Isaac had remained indoors because she feared for her safety and that the prolonged situation had affected her health.
The prosecution rejected the claim.
Mr Ubi insisted that Mrs Omokamo had the keys to the apartment and had locked herself inside, while the EFCC operatives outside the property were only carrying out enforcement duties.
After listening to both sides, Mrs Abdulmalik ordered the EFCC to take Mrs Godwin-Isaac into custody and produce her before the court on Thursday.
The order came after her lawyer confirmed that she had the keys to the apartment.
The Whistler Newspaper reported that Mrs Godwin-Isaac was later taken into custody after she voluntarily left the building, according to sources familiar with the development.
The issue of her absence from court arose amid a dispute over the EFCC’s continued presence at her Guzape property.
Earlier on Tuesday, during proceedings in a related civil suit filed by the EFCC, Mr Oshomeghie had asked the court to clarify an earlier order directing the parties to maintain the status quo ante bellum.
The lawyer argued that the continued presence of EFCC operatives at the property had effectively confined his client indoors for almost a month.
Mrs Abdulmalik, however, rejected the argument and told the lawyer that he could not “think for the court.”
“When I make an order, I go to sleep,” the judge said.
During the civil proceedings, Mr Ubi informed the court that an application for the final forfeiture of the disputed property was pending.
He also told the court that another party had filed an application seeking to be joined in the suit.
The court ruled that the joinder application should be heard before the other pending applications and adjourned the civil matter until 15 October.
The land dispute is linked to the criminal trial in which Mrs Godwin-Isaac is facing charges alongside her husband, Isaac Ishaku; Homadil Realty Limited; Richard John; and Rychado Homes Limited.
The defendants were arraigned before Mrs Abdulmalik in June 2025, in two separate cases marked FHC/ABJ/CR/76/2025 and FHC/ABJ/CR/77/2025.
The cases involve allegations of criminal conspiracy, forgery, obtaining money under false pretences and money laundering.
The defendants pleaded not guilty and were granted bail of N10 million each, with two sureties.
The EFCC alleges that the defendants fraudulently obtained more than N500 million from victims between 2023 and 2024 by selling plots of land using forged documents, including fake Powers of Attorney.
The disputed properties include Plot 4022 in Guzape and several plots in Katampe, Abuja.
The commission further alleges that proceeds of the alleged fraud were laundered through company accounts.
Among the alleged victims is a 79-year-old widow, Colleen Yesufu.
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She accused Mrs Godwin-Isaac, also known as Bilikisu Ishaku Aliyu, in a letter addressed to President Bola Tinubu, of orchestrating the land fraud in collusion with corrupt police officers and land officials.
Mrs Yesufu said she was writing in response to Ms Godwin-Isaac’s earlier open letter to the president, where the developer denied any wrongdoing and claimed lawful ownership of the disputed plots.
“I am compelled to write this letter in direct response to the misleading claims of innocence made by Ms Rebecca Omokamo Godwin Isaac… I respectfully demand your urgent intervention to ensure that justice is not only done, but visibly seen to be done,” she wrote.
A prosecution witness, Abu Gambo, previously told the court that he lost N62 million after purchasing two plots of land in Katampe, only to later discover that the titles to the properties had allegedly disappeared from the records of the Abuja Geographic Information Systems (AGIS).
The trial has also experienced earlier delays. In June, proceedings were adjourned after an EFCC witness lost his mother. The prosecution had told the court that it had prepared the witness to testify but had to seek a new date following the bereavement.
The defendants have denied the allegations.
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