A Lagos Federal High Court has ordered the prosecution to ensure the attendance of all its witnesses in the ongoing N152 million property fraud trial against Olukayode Olusanya, Chief Executive Officer of Oak Homes Limited, as the matter was adjourned to April 20, 2026.
Justice Musa Kakaki, presiding at the Federal High Court in Lagos, delivered the directive on Thursday following heated arguments between defence and prosecution lawyers over the status and service of the prosecution’s application for a virtual trial.
At the resumed session, CSP Monday Omo-Osagie, prosecuting counsel representing the Nigeria Police Force, informed the court that the trial was scheduled for the continuation of proceedings and that the prosecution had complied with an earlier order by filing a Motion on Notice seeking the court’s permission to continue the trial virtually.
Omo-Osagie asserted that the motion, filed on November 4, 2025, had been served on the defendants on the same day in accordance with the court’s prior directive. “We complied with the court’s order within the stipulated 14 days. We filed the Motion on Notice…and at 2:15 pm on the same day, it was served on the defendants,” he told the court.
However, defence counsel Benson Nwosu and Jude Ehiedu pushed back, arguing that neither they nor their clients had been properly served with the virtual hearing application. They urged the court to compel the prosecution to close its case over what they described as a lack of diligent prosecution and reiterated their readiness to proceed with physical hearings.
Justice Kakaki acknowledged that there was no proof of service of the application in the court’s file, but declined the defence’s request to strike out the prosecution’s case. Instead, he emphasised that trial proceedings must move forward without further delay, a stance reflected in his explicit instruction to the police prosecutor.
The judge consequently adjourned the matter to April 20, 2026, and ordered the prosecution to ensure that all its witnesses are present and prepared to testify on that date.
Olusanya and Oak Homes Limited are jointly facing a four-count charge brought by the Nigeria Police Force, which includes conspiracy, obtaining money by false pretence, fraud, and stealing.
The prosecution alleges that between November 8, 2017, and August 4, 2020, Olusanya and Ms. Lynda Umeh, the company’s former Head of Sales and Marketing who is now at large, defrauded a Nigerian-American engineer, Mr. Anthony Ugbebor, of N152 million. The offence is said to have occurred under the pretext of selling two three-bedroom apartments at Oak Residence, Victoria Island, with a promised delivery date of February 28, 2019, a deadline that was never met.
All defendants pleaded not guilty when they were first arraigned on November 26, 2024.
The latest court order marks a decisive moment in a case that has seen procedural disputes slow progress. By insisting that witnesses appear and testify, Justice Kakaki signalled the judiciary’s intention to avoid further adjournments that could derail the trial’s momentum.
As the prosecution now prepares its witness list for the April sitting, all eyes will be on whether the police can satisfy the court’s directive and advance its case against Olusanya and Oak Homes Limited.
