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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Crime & Justice

Oak Homes: Court to rule on admissibility of disputed documents

From The Punch · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources In the courts
  • A Nigerian court will rule on October 27-28, 2026, whether to admit disputed documents in the trial of property developer Olukayode Olusanya for alleged N152 million fraud.
  • The prosecution seeks to tender offer letters as evidence, while the defense argues against their admissibility, claiming hearsay.
  • The complainant testified about paying 80% of the purchase price for two flats, totaling N152 million, for a retirement home that was never delivered.

Justice Musa Kakaki of the Federal High Court in Lagos has scheduled October 27-28, 2026, to decide on the admissibility of documents presented by the prosecution in the ongoing trial of property developer Olukayode Olusanya and his company, Oak Homes Ltd. They face charges of alleged N152 million property fraud.

The contract was structured as a performance milestone contract. In other words, the contract was based on verifiable, satisfactory and completed work at various stages of the project from start to finish.

— Anthony UgbeborThe complainant explained the payment structure for the property deal.

The core of the legal dispute revolves around four offer letters that the prosecution wishes to introduce as evidence. These documents allegedly demonstrate attempts to resell the properties in question. The defense contends that these letters are inadmissible, particularly arguing that testimony about them constitutes hearsay.

During the proceedings, the prosecution, led by Chief Superintendent of Police Monday Omo-Osagie, was prepared to present its third witness. The prosecution also filed a Motion on Notice, which was not opposed by the defense counsels for Olusanya and Oak Homes Ltd. The judge granted the application.

I mentioned dollars because my income is in dollars. After the payment, the defendant started acting in a suspicious manner, basically taking my patience and simplicity for stupidity.

— Anthony UgbeborThe complainant described his financial situation and the developer's subsequent behavior.

The nominal complainant, Anthony Ugbebor, then testified about his involvement. He explained that he petitioned the police on December 10, 2023, after concluding that Olusanya had mishandled the property transaction. Ugbebor stated he entered an agreement with Olusanya in November 2017, expecting a reputable developer to deliver a retirement home. He made payments totaling N152 million, representing 80% of the purchase price for two flats, between November 2017 and December 2020. These funds were his life savings, equivalent to approximately US$400,000 at the time. The project was due for delivery on February 28, 2019, but construction stalled. When Ugbebor began recounting details of his representative's site inspection, the defense objected, citing hearsay, a point the judge acknowledged.

He can only testify as to what he did, and not what someone else did.

— Adeleke Agboola (SAN)The defense counsel objected to the complainant recounting his representative's actions, calling it hearsay.
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Originally published by The Punch. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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