Court jails Nwude, two lawyers for property fraud

Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, has convicted and sentenced notorious fraudster, Emmanuel Nwude, and two lawyers, Emmanuel Ilechukwu and Rowland Kalu, to one year imprisonment each for forgery and dealing in forfeited property.

The trio were convicted on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, on an amended 15-count charge bordering on conspiracy, forgery, uttering false documents, dealing in forfeited property, attempt to pervert the course of justice and fabricating evidence.

The prosecution told the court that between 2011 and 2012, the defendants unlawfully dealt with a property located at Plot Y, Mobolaji Johnson Street, Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos, which had earlier been forfeited to victims of crime as restitution following a judgment delivered on November 18, 2005 by Justice J.O.K. Oyewole.

According to the charge, the property had been sold by the victims to Rosaab Industrial Design Limited, which later assigned it to G.C. Nweze and Company Limited.

The defendants pleaded not guilty when they were arraigned on March 2, 2018, prompting a full trial.

During the proceedings, the prosecution counsel, Nnaemeka Omewa, called five witnesses and tendered several documentary exhibits which were admitted in evidence by the court.

Following the close of the prosecution’s case in March 2019, Nwude and his counsel filed a no-case submission, which was dismissed by the court on September 19, 2019, directing the defendants to open their defence.

Rather than comply, Nwude approached the Court of Appeal to challenge the ruling, but the appellate court dismissed the appeal and ordered him to return to the trial court to open his defence.

Nwude eventually opened his defence on February 22, 2021, testifying for himself and calling three witnesses before closing his case. His co-defendants, Ilechukwu and Kalu, also testified and closed their defence on February 27, 2025.

Justice Dada, in her judgment, found the defendants guilty on counts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15, but acquitted them on counts 7 and 8, which bordered on making false statements to a public officer.

She subsequently sentenced each of them to one year imprisonment.

The case stemmed from a petition received by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in July 2017.

Investigations revealed that after serving a previous jail term for fraud involving Banco Noroeste S.A. of Brazil, Nwude attempted to reclaim a property that had already been forfeited to victims of his earlier crime as part of a plea bargain agreement.

He reportedly engaged the services of the two lawyers and issued a Power of Attorney to Kalu in the name of Mankris Ventures Limited, falsely claiming ownership of the property instead of Emrus Auto Nigeria Limited, the company originally linked to the forfeiture.

Using the document, Kalu filed a case at a Magistrate Court in Ogba, Lagos, and obtained an order to evict G.C. Nweze and Company Limited from the property.

Following the eviction, the occupants challenged the order in court, claiming it had been obtained fraudulently.

Subsequent investigations by the EFCC led to the prosecution of Nwude and his lawyers, culminating in their conviction and sentence.

The judgment marks the latest legal setback for Nwude, once known for one of the largest advance-fee fraud schemes in history.