Three men, Saka Olubamishe, Omogoye Olusegun, and Olumuyiwa Adesina, were arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission before the Ikeja Special Offences Court on Thursday for allegedly obtaining N29,386, 500 under false pretences of transferring dollars to Copart Auto Auction in America.The defendants were arraigned before Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe and are facing three charges that the EFCC has preferred against them: conspiracy, theft, and obtaining.
Three suspects Accused Of N29.3 Million Fraud Are Granted N30 million Bail.
B. M. Isha, the prosecuting attorney for the anti-graft agency, informed the court that the defendants committed the offences in Lagos sometime in July 2023.Isha informed the court that the three of them colluded and fraudulently appropriated N29, 386, 500 that belonged to Awolaja Sherri Ajibola and Akintoye Ganiyu.
According to the prosecutor, the defendants allegedly defrauded the victims by obtaining the total amount of N29, 386, 500 under the false pretence that they had the equivalent amount in dollars, which they knew was untrue, and transferring it to Copart Auto Auction in America at a rate of N750 per dollar.Sections 411 and 280(2) of the Lagos State 2015 Criminal Laws, as well as Sections 1(1)(a) and 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act No. 14 of 2006, were violated, the prosecutor claimed.
Given their plea, the prosecutor, Isha, prayed to the court for a trial date.However, the defendants’ attorneys, S. T. Ladokun, S. A. Oseni, and T. F. Makinde, told the court about their clients’ pending bail applications and begged the court to grant them the most lenient terms possible.
As a result, they were each given N10m in bail by Justice Abike-Fadipe, along with two sureties of the same amount.According to the judge, the sureties must provide the Lagos State Government with proof that they have paid taxes.In order to start the trial, she postponed the case until January 23, 2025.
