OJIKUTU EXPLAINS ₦130M PROPERTY DISPUTE, REJECTS FRAUD ALLEGATION

Former Lagos State Deputy Governor, Alhaja Sinatu Ojikutu, has rejected the ₦130m land fraud allegation previously made against her, describing the controversy as politically motivated. Ojikutu said the matter resulted from an error by a land agent who mistakenly identified a property as belonging to her late husband, insisting that there was no deliberate attempt on her part to defraud anyone.

Ojikutu explained that the property at the centre of the controversy was a vacant plot in Lekki which an agent had identified as belonging to her late husband. According to her, the actual property belonging to her husband was on an adjoining plot that had already been developed. She said the mistake became apparent after the matter was investigated, but the confusion had already generated allegations against her and her son, Sampson.

The former deputy governor said she became aware that the supposedly vacant property was being marketed by touts and decided to investigate its ownership. She said her lawyer checked the land registry and found no encumbrance on the property before she agreed to sell it. Ojikutu maintained that the transaction was based on the information available to her at the time and that the land identification error was responsible for the controversy.

The former Lagos deputy governor was declared wanted in connection with a petition submitted to the police in June 2014, alleging that she and her son were involved in a ₦130m land scam in Lekki. Ojikutu has continued to reject the allegation, saying the incident was later used to damage her political reputation. She also stated that she had never embezzled public funds or stolen from any organisation where she had worked.

Speaking during an interview at the 2026 PR Forum/CSR Exhibition and Award, Ojikutu maintained that the matter should be understood in the context of the property identification error rather than as a deliberate fraud scheme. She said her son was also dragged into the controversy without his knowledge, while insisting that the original land confusion arose from the mistake made by the agent and surveyor involved in identifying the property.