Court grants Ogun speaker N300m bail
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Court
The Ogun State House of Assembly Speaker, Olakunle Oluomo and two others were on Tuesday remanded at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s custody by a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos State over alleged N2.475 billion money laundering.
Justice Daniel Osiagor ordered that they should be remanded for one week in the EFCC’s custody, adding that if they failed to meet up with the bail condition, they would be remanded at the Nigerian Correctional Service.
The EFCC on Tuesday arraigned the Speaker over alleged N2.475bn money laundering.
Oluomo was arraigned alongside three others who are Oladayo Samuel, Adeyemo Adedeji Taiwo and Adeyanju Amoke (now at large) on 11 counts of conspiracy, forgery, stealing and money laundering preferred against them by the EFCC.
EFCC prosecuting counsel Rotimi Oyedepo told the court that the defendants committed the alleged offences between 2019 and 2022.
He said the incident took place in Ogun State.
Oyedepo told the court that they allegedly stole the sum of N2.475bn from the treasury of Ogun State House of Assembly.
When the charge was read to the defendants, they pleaded not guilty.
When the matter came up for arraignment on Tuesday, Mr Kehinde Ogunwunmiju, SAN, appeared for the first defendant, Akinyemi Aremu, for the second defendant and Oluwole Aladedoye for the third defendant.
EFCC set to arraign Ogun Speaker
On September 1, the EFFC’s Lagos Head of Legal Monitoring Unit, Rotimi Oyedepo, filed the charge at the Federal High Court, in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
The Commission said it intended to call at least 10 witnesses to testify and tender documents and exhibits.
The list of the witnesses includes Adamu Usman Yusuf, Otitoju Moses Kolawale, Yazid Ahmad Bawa, Anyanwu Bright, Adekunbi Mojibola, Munkaila Huzaifa and Idowu Oluseyi Olarenwaju.
Others are representatives of Ashkash Nigeria limited, representatives of Obasanjo Holdings limited(managers of NNPC Mega Station) and representatives of Gateway Bank limited.
The Ogun State High Court had on Monday granted the application of the Commission for the case to be heard at the Federal High Court in Lagos by the vacation judge.
EFCC had earlier released the Speaker on bail. He, however, returned back to the Lagos office of the commission on Monday with other officials of the State House of Assembly, especially the clerk and accountant for further questioning.
The first defendant’s counsel, Ogunwunmiju SAN, informed the court that he had filed a bail application but was yet to be before the court.
While moving their applications for bail for the defendants, the first defendant’s counsel Igunwumiju (SAN), urged the court to grant the first defendant bail in liberal terms, adding that Oluomo voluntarily returned to the EFCC office in Lagos on Monday, after he was granted administrative bail last Friday.
