A businessman and his company appeared at the Osun State High Court, in Ede, today after being accused of stealing and giving of gratification to public officers.
John Ojekorede Ojemuyiwa and his company, Digitpro Engineering Technology Ltd, were charged by the Ibadan Zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The accused person, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges before Justice A.O. Oladimeji.
The prosecution counsel Oluwatoyin A. Owodunni asked the Court for a trial date, while the defense counsel, Banjo Akinwande, approached the Court with an oral application for bail. The prosecuting counsel opposed the oral application. The judge ordered that the defense counsel present a formal application to help the Court exercise its discretion on the bail application in view of the antecedents of failure of the accused person to honour EFCC official’s invitation twice.
One of the counts says: “That you John Ojekorede Ojemuyiwa and Digitpro Technology Ltd sometimes in February, 2014 at Ila-Orangun within the Osogbo judicial Division stole the sum of N53,837,574.08 only for the sum of N112,810,952.20 advanced to you as mobilization fee for the construction of an Amphitheatre by Osun State College of Education, Ila Orangun, in Osun State.”
The second count says: “That you John Ojekorede Ojemuyiwa and Digitpro Technology Ltd sometime in February, 2014 at Ila-Orangun, within the Osogbo judicial Division, corruptly gave the sum of N43,093,694.36 to members of the Governing council, Osun State College of Education Ila-Orogun through one David Olayinka Olojede of De Capstone Ltd on account of the award of a contract worth N228,298,302.00 and the over payment of mobilization fee to you by the Governing Council and the Management of Osun State College of Education.”
According to EFCC Ojemuyiwa’s journey to the dock followed a petition to the Commission sometimes in April, 2016, by the Civil Societies Coalition for the Emancipation of Osun. The group revealed that there was a fraudulent conversion and diversion of N.3billion TETFUND approved for sundry projects at the Osun State College of Education, Ila Orangun.
The matter was adjourned till Tuesday May 2nd, 2016 for hearing of the bail application and commencement of trial.
The accused is to be remanded at the Federal Prison, Ilesha, in Osun State.
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