The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday fixed 21 November to rule on whether or not it possesses the jurisdiction to conduct a land fraud trial involving the Chief Executive Officer of Homadil Realty Limited, Rebecca Godwin-Isaac, and others.
Trial judge Joyce Abdulmalik fixed the ruling date after hearing the preliminary objections filed by the defence challenging the prosecution’s authority to bring the case before the Federal High Court.
|
|
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Ms Godwin-Isaac and her company, Homadil Realty Limited, alongside Richard John and his company, Rychado Homes Limited, on 17 counts of fraudulent land sales and money laundering.
The prosecution already started calling witnesses to prove its case.
|
|
|---|
Defence lawyer Christopher Oshomegie, who represented Ms Godwin-Isaac, told the court of the motion he filed on 16 July, on behalf of his client, to challenge the jurisdiction of the court to hear the case.
He said the objection to the trial was based on grounds, including that the Federal High Court lacked constitutional authority to hear the matter.
Mr Oshomegie added that the same case was already pending before the FCT High Court.
The defence relied on a 36-paragraph affidavit with 11 exhibits, including documents showing parallel proceedings in the FCT High Court. A further affidavit filed on 6 October also contested EFCC’s prosecutorial powers to take up the case.
In response, the prosecution urged the court to dismiss the objection and proceed with trial. It relied on a 31-paragraph counter affidavit and a written address in calling on the court to proceed with the trial.
The judge adjourned the case till 21 November to deliver its ruling.
Background
EFCC alleged in the case that Ms Godwin-Isaac collected over N237 million from multiple land buyers and laundered N500 million through Homadil Realty Limited.
The commission also accused her of forging documents to acquire Plot 4022 in Guzape, obtaining building approvals with forged papers, selling land fraudulently under Homadil Realty Limited and defrauding Dana Waziri of N70 million.
The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.
PREMIUM TIMES previously reported that prosecution witness Abu Gambo recounted his ordeal following a N62 million land deal with Mrs Godwin-Isaac.
Mr Gambo, a businessman and facility manager, testified before Mrs Abdulmalik in July that he paid Mrs Godwin-Isaac for two plots of land—Plots 17 and 18 within Plot 1862, Katampe District, Abuja.
Led in evidence by EFCC lawyer Samuel Chime, Mr Gambo narrated that he met Mrs Godwin-Isaac in 2023 through an agent who introduced him to a staff member of Mr John.
READ ALSO: PDP Crisis: Wike’s faction holds emergency NEC, BoT meetings Tuesday
After a failed land offer in Jahi, Abuja, he was introduced to Ms Godwin-Isaac, who offered him Plot 17.
The witness said she presented a Right of Occupancy (R-of-O) purportedly issued by the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), showing that the title had been transferred from Fafam Nigeria Limited to Homadil Realty Limited.
“She told me she got the approval in 2022 and asked me to verify at the Abuja Geographic Information Systems (AGIS),” Mr Gambo testified. “When I checked with AGIS, the details she gave me appeared on their system.”
According to Mr Gambo, when EFCC marked the property in September 2024 and he re-verified it at AGIS, the records had “disappeared from the system.”
He said Ms Godwin-Isaac offered to refund his money after he raised the issue.
In a related case, FHC/ABJ/CR/77/2025, the EFCC arraigned Mrs Godwin-Isaac and other defendants in June on six counts of fraud involving Plot 4022 in Guzape District, Abuja.
They pleaded not guilty to the charges.
