The Court of Appeal sitting in Enugu has overturned the acquittal of Henry Ugwuede, convicting him on multiple counts of land fraud and sentencing him to seven years imprisonment.
The ruling set aside the earlier judgment of the Federal High Court, which had discharged Ugwuede after holding that his restitution to the victims nullified the criminal charges.
Ugwuede was initially prosecuted by the Enugu Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before Justice R. O. Dugbo Oghoghorie on a six-count charge bordering on forgery, uttering, and obtaining by false pretence amounting to ₦2,910,000.
According to the EFCC, Ugwuede fraudulently obtained the sum from Captain Agbor Ubachukwu Solomon, falsely claiming ownership of Plot 244, located at Emehelaku Layout, Nike, in Enugu East Local Government Area. The petitioner later discovered that the land did not belong to Ugwuede and that the signatures on the Deed of Lease had been forged.
One of the charges against him read:
“That you, Henry Ugwuede… with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of ₦1,700,000 through your First Bank account… by false pretence when you represented yourself as the owner of Plot 244… which pretence you knew to be false…”
Another charge stated that he obtained ₦1,210,000 by falsely claiming ownership of Plot 267 at the same layout.
Ugwuede pleaded not guilty, prompting a full trial in which EFCC counsel, CSE Blessing Obasi, presented five witnesses and tendered several documents, including the disputed Deed of Lease.
However, in a judgment delivered on April 18, 2024, Justice Dugbo Oghoghorie ruled that Ugwuede’s restitution to the victims removed the essential ingredients of the offences and consequently discharged and acquitted him.
Dissatisfied, the EFCC filed a Notice of Appeal on July 17, 2024, arguing that the lower court failed to evaluate the evidence of prosecution witnesses, misapplied the law, and neglected the weight of exhibits, particularly Exhibit EFCC 1 — the Deed of Lease between Umemwene Iji/Alulu Nike communities and Capt. Agbor Solomon. The Commission also contended that restitution cannot extinguish criminal liability for obtaining by false pretence.
Delivering judgment on behalf of a three-member panel on November 25, 2025, Justice Mohammed Mustapha affirmed the EFCC’s position.
“Restitution in itself does not and did not take away the punishment meant and intended for committing the crime. Therefore, the refund of the money collected by the respondent under false pretence has to come along with the punishment prescribed for the offence,” the court ruled.
He therefore declared:
“Judgment of the Federal High Court Enugu, delivered on the 18th of April, 2024 is hereby set aside, along with the order of acquittal. The respondent is accordingly convicted as charged. He is hereby sentenced to the mandatory prescribed minimum of seven years without option of fine.”
The court ordered that all sentences run concurrently, in line with Section 1(3) and Section 1(2) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, 2004.
Ugwuede will now serve the full seven-year term, marking a significant victory for the EFCC’s pursuit of justice in land fraud cases in Enugu State.
