The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC), Ibadan Zonal Office, on Monday, February 22, secured the conviction of one Oluwatoyin Henry before Justice Sherifat Adeyemi of the Oyo State High Court, sitting in Ibadan, on one count of obtaining by false pretence.
The charge read: “That you Oluwatoyin Henry sometimes in 2019, at Ogbomoso, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of One Thousand Two Hundred United States of America Dollars (USD$1,200) from one Betty Mosley, when you falsely represented to him that you are a citizen of United States of America by name Amanda, who is in love with him which representations you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence.”
The convict, who claimed to be a student of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, pleaded guilty to the amended charge after a plea bargain agreement with the prosecution.
Based on his plea, he was convicted and sentenced to six months in prison.
He was also ordered to return the sum of $1,200 USD to his victim, and forfeit his iPhone 11, one Infinix Hot 5 and a Nokia phone to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Also, EFCC arraigned one Mary Masirat Akerele on a five count charge bordering on stealing to the tune of N35,520,000 before Justice Abiodun Akinyemi of the Ogun State High Court 4,Abeokuta.
Trouble started for the 46-year-old socialite, who resides in Aseko area of Idiroko Ogun State, when the EFCC received a petition, alleging that she collected the said sum in installments from one Alhaja Oladoja Abike for the purpose of supplying four truck-load of rice from a rice milling company at Bida, Niger state but diverted the funds.
One of the charge read: ” That you Mary Masirat Akerele (trading under the name and style of Goodness of Jesus Global Ventures) on or about the 19th day of September, 2018, at Abeokuta within the Abeokuta Judicial Division of the Honourable Court, fraudulently converted to the your own use the sum of Eleven Million Naira (N11, 000,000.00) only, property of Fausia Abike Oladoja and thereby committed an offence of stealing contrary to Section 390(9) of the Criminal Code, Cap. 30, laws of Ogun State, 2006.”
The defendant pleaded ‘not guilty’ when the charge was read to her.
Counsel to the defendant, H. A. Omikunle, made an oral application for his client’s bail.
However, Shamsuddeen Bashir, counsel to EFCC, opposed the application due to the defendant’s failure to keep the terms of the administrative bail earlier granted her.
Justice Akinyemi adjourned the case till March 4, for determination of the bail application an ordered the remand of the defendant in the Nigerian Correctional Centre, Ibara,Abeokuta.
