The Lagos State High Court in Ikeja has convicted and sentenced mortgage banker Sulaiman Olayiwola Gbajabiamila for defrauding a client of N31 million in a property deal and forging a Sterling Bank manager’s cheque.
Justice I. O. Ijelu delivered the judgment on Monday, August 25, 2025, following Gbajabiamila’s trial on a seven-count charge of stealing, obtaining by false pretences, forgery, use of false documents, and retention of proceeds of crime. The charges were filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in September 2023.
According to the EFCC, the case began when Gbajabiamila, introduced through an estate agent, collected N31 million from a petitioner, Lateef Adeyemo, for a two-bedroom apartment in Iponri, Lagos. The property was never delivered, and investigations revealed the funds were diverted for personal use.
One of the charges alleged that Gbajabiamila, in 2021, dishonestly converted Adeyemo’s N31 million to his own use. Another accused him of forging a Sterling Bank manager’s cheque worth N10 million in favour of STB Building Society Limited.
During the trial, Gbajabiamila pleaded not guilty. Prosecution counsel Abdulhamid L. Tukur presented two witnesses and tendered documents admitted as evidence, while defence counsel T. E. Gbado urged the court to show leniency, describing the defendant as a first-time offender who was remorseful.
In sentencing, Justice Ijelu handed Gbajabiamila five years’ imprisonment on the count of stealing, with an option of a N1 million fine; seven years for obtaining by false pretences; two years each for three counts of forgery, with an option of N1 million fine on each; two years for using false documents, with an option of a N200,000 fine; and four years for retention of proceeds of crime, with an option of a N500,000 fine.
