Court Jails Nwude, Two Lawyers for Forgery and Fraudulent Dealings in Forfeited Lagos Property
By ThankGod Inalegwu
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 offences bordering on forgery and unlawful dealings in forfeited property.
The trio were convicted on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, after the court found them guilty on an amended 15-count charge involving conspiracy, forgery, uttering false documents, dealing in forfeited property, attempt to pervert the course of justice and fabrication of evidence.
Delivering judgment, Justice Dada held that the prosecution had successfully established its case against the defendants beyond reasonable doubt. The court subsequently sentenced each of them to one year in prison after finding them guilty on 13 of the 15 counts brought against them. They were, however, acquitted on two counts relating to making false statements to a public officer.
According to the prosecution, the offences were committed between 2011 and 2012 and involved a property located at Plot Y, Mobolaji Johnson Street, Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos. The property had earlier been forfeited to victims of crime as restitution following a judgment delivered on November 18, 2005 by Justice J.O.K. Oyewole.
The court heard that the forfeited 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 had pleaded not guilty when they were arraigned on March 2, 2018, leading to a full trial. During the proceedings, 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 filed a no-case submission through his counsel, arguing that the evidence presented was insufficient to warrant a defence. However, the court dismissed the application on September 19, 2019, directing the defendants to open their defence.
Rather than proceed immediately with his defence, Nwude approached the Court of Appeal to challenge the ruling. The appellate court dismissed the appeal and ordered him to return to the trial court to present his defence.
Nwude eventually opened his defence on February 22, 2021, testifying on his own behalf and calling three witnesses before closing his case. His co-defendants, Ilechukwu and Kalu, also testified and concluded their defence on February 27, 2025.
The case originated from a petition received by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in July 2017.
Investigations revealed that after serving a previous jail term for a massive fraud involving Banco Noroeste S.A. of Brazil, Nwude allegedly attempted to reclaim a property that had already been forfeited to victims of his earlier crime as part of a plea bargain agreement.
According to investigators, Nwude enlisted 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 reportedly filed a suit at a Magistrate Court in Ogba, Lagos, where he obtained an order to evict G.C. Nweze and Company Limited from the property.
However, the occupants challenged the eviction in court, insisting the order had been fraudulently obtained. Subsequent investigations by the EFCC led to the prosecution of Nwude and the two lawyers.
The conviction represents another legal setback for Nwude, who was once linked to one of the largest advance-fee fraud schemes in history.