Former Lagos State Deputy Governor, Alhaja Sinatu Ojikutu, has dismissed the N130 million land fraud allegations against her as politically motivated.
She explained that the controversy resulted from an error by a land agent, rather than any intention to defraud. Speaking at the 2026 PR Forum/CSR Exhibition & Award, Ojikutu insisted she has never embezzled public funds or stolen from any organisation, and believes the incident was engineered to tarnish her political reputation.
Ojikutu and her son, Sampson, were declared wanted after a 2014 petition accused them of involvement in a N130 million land scam in Lekki, Lagos.
Recounting her side of the story, Ojikutu explained that the dispute began when a land agent mistakenly identified a vacant plot as belonging to her late husband. In reality, his actual property was an adjacent, already-developed plot. Her son, she said, was implicated simply because he was helping manage the family estate.
She explained that touts were occupying the vacant land when her lawyer verified at the land registry that there were no encumbrances.
Believing the property was hers, she proceeded with the sale. “The N130 million scandal was politically motivated,” Ojikutu said. “It was the result of a misidentification by the agent, not a deliberate act. My late husband’s land was beside the plot in question and had already been developed.”
The issue only came to light after the buyer began developing the property and was confronted by another claimant.
Further investigations confirmed her late husband’s land was the neighboring plot, which had already been sold by someone else, though there was no evidence her husband had authorised that sale.
Upon realizing the mistake, Ojikutu said she refunded the buyer, clarifying that the sum involved was N120 million, not N130 million as widely reported. “I paid back part of the money—N50 million initially, then the remaining N70 million. So the total was N120 million, not N130 million,” she stated.
Ojikutu believes the matter was exploited for political gain as elections approached, especially given her active role in campaigning. “The buyer was pressured to label the transaction as fraud while I was arranging the refund,” she added.
She further denied claims that she fled Nigeria, explaining her trip to the United States was pre-scheduled for medical reasons and that she had informed the police beforehand. Nonetheless, she was declared wanted as soon as she left the country, and efforts were made to involve the US Embassy and seek her extradition.
Ojikutu noted that she has since taken legal action to reclaim her late husband’s property. She emphasized her lifelong stand against corruption, saying, “I have never taken a kobo illicitly in any public institution where I have worked. I was targeted simply because of my opposition to corrupt practices.”
