Ladipo Sanusi/
A Federal High Court in Lagos today expressed displeasure with the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
Justice Oluremi Oguntoyinbo berated the NPF over its approach in the ongoing trial of a filmmaker, Olajide Kazeem, aka Seun Egbegbe, and other accused persons arraigned before the court over alleged multi-million-dollar fraud.
Other accused persons arraigned alongside Egbegbe are: Oyekan Ayomide, Lawal Kareem, Olalekan Yusuf and Muyideen Shoyombo.
At the resumed trial of the accused persons today, the prosecution failed again to produce its first witness, Inspector Bello Abubakar, who had earlier testified before the Court but yet to conclude.
The witness had failed to appear in court to conclude his testimony despite several adjournments. The situation made the Court to issue bench warrant against the witness at the last adjourned date.
At today’s proceedings, the prosecutor, Innocent Anyigor, told the court how various attempts to get the witness, who he said was out of the jurisdiction of the court, failed.
Justice Oguntoyinbo, who was not convinced with the submission of the prosecutor, expressed its disappointment over ways and manners the police were handling the case.
The judge, therefore, ordered the prosecutor to produce the witness unfailingly on October 18, in order not to strike out the testimony of the witness. The Court also ordered the fifth defendant, Shoyombo to get counsel before the next hearing date which is October 11.
It would be recalled that Egbegbe and his co-accused were re-arraigned by the police in a third amended charge marked FHC/L/40c/2017, on charges bordering on conspiracy, stealing, and fraud in the sum of N39, 098,100; $90,000, and £12,550, belonging to over 30 Bureau De Change Operators.
The police alleged that the defendants defrauded the BDC operators mostly by falsely representing to the victims that they had foreign currencies to sell to or buy from the BDC operators.
The police alleged, for instance, that on February 2, 2017, Egbegbe and his co-defendants fraudulently obtained the sums of N2.45million and £3000 from one Alhaji Isa Adamu in Lagos under the guise that they wanted to see the naira and buy the pounds.
Among the other victims of the alleged frauds by Egbegbe were: Mohammed Sanni, who was allegedly defrauded of N2.46million on 2017 New Year day; Jubrila Ado, allegedly defrauded of N1.257million on September 9, 2016; Hassan Amodu, allegedly defrauded of N600,000 in January 2016; Sanni Hassan, defrauded of N1.43million and £2,750 in August 2015; Saidi Abdullahi, defrauded of N700,000 on April 18, 2016; Atairu Abdullahi, defrauded of N1million on June 23, 2016; and Abdullahi Babadisa, defrauded of N650,000 in January 2016.
Anyigor told the Court that Egbegbe and the others acted contrary to Section 8 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act 2006 and were liable to be punished under Section 1(3) of the same Act.
Egbegbe and other suspects have been granted bail, but yet to meet the bail conditions.
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