Justice Olusola Adetujoye of the Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan has convicted and sentenced Gbenga Amos Olaniyan to 63 years’ imprisonment for multiple investment fraud offences.
Olaniyan was convicted alongside his firm, Detorrid Heritage Investment Limited. They were prosecuted on a 30-count charge by the Ibadan Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on allegations of obtaining money by false pretences, contrary to Section 1(1)(a) and punishable under Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006.
Olaniyan pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were read to him. Following his plea, EFCC counsel, Sanusi Galadanchi, opened the case on February 17, 2022, called eight witnesses, tendered several exhibits marked “Exhibits A to H,” and closed the case on January 24, 2023.
After the prosecution concluded its case, the defendant filed a “no case submission,” which the court dismissed, ordering him to enter his defence. The defendant subsequently opened and closed his case on October 17, 2024, testifying as the lone witness for himself and the second defendant.
After the presentations from both sides, the court adopted the final written addresses and reserved judgment until April 28, 2025.
At the resumption of the trial on Monday, April 28, 2025, Justice Adetujoye convicted and sentenced Olaniyan to seven years’ imprisonment on each of counts 6, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, and 24, while discharging and acquitting him on counts 1–5, 7–15, 20, and 25–30. The court ordered the sentences to run concurrently and directed Olaniyan to restitute the victims.
This is not Olaniyan’s first conviction for similar crimes. On December 14, 2023, Justice Bayo Taiwo of the Oyo State High Court sentenced him to 75 years’ imprisonment for related offences. Additionally, the convict faces two ongoing trials before the Federal High Court in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Olaniyan’s criminal activities involved defrauding several individuals under the guise of investment ventures, resulting in losses exceeding N1 billion. His latest conviction stems from his arrest and arraignment by the EFCC on December 14, 2021.
