Sept 23, 2024

The third prosecution witness, PW3, in the ongoing trial of seven suspects over an alleged £1m fraud has told Justice R.A.Osodi of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos how the defendants were apprehended in the Ikorodu area of Lagos.

The Lagos Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, had on February 3, 2022 arraigned Morufu Adewale, (a.k.a Gbegunleri Adelana), Abayomi Alaka(a.k.a. Dauda Usman Alashe), Omitogun Ajayi and Ajisegiri Abiodun before Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos.

Three other defendants, Taiwo Ahmed, Raufu Raheem and Sanlabiu Teslim, had initially been listed to be at large.

However, the trial could not be concluded before the retirement of Justice Taiwo.

This prompted the re-assignment of the case file to Justice Oshodi, even as the EFCC intensified its efforts to secure the arrest of the other suspected fraudsters.

Subsequently, all the seven defendants were in December 2022 re-arraigned on an amended three-count charge.

Count one reads: “Morufu Yahaya Adewale, Omitogun Ajayi, Ajisegiri Abiodun, Abayomi Kamaldeen Alaka, Taiwo Olamilekan Ahmed, Raufu Wale Raheem and Sanlabiu Owolabi Teslim between May and July 2018 at Lagos within the Ikeja Judicial Division obtained the total sum of £1,000,000.00 (One Million Pounds Sterling) from Dr. and Dr. (Mrs) Lateef Oladimeji Bello for the purpose of conducting prayers for spiritual cleansing of the family and that the money will be refunded after the prayers within one week, which you knew to be false.”

Count three reads: “Morufu Yahaya Adewale, Omitogun Ajayi, Ajisegiri Abiodun, Abayomi Kamaldeen Alaka, Taiwo Olamilekan Ahmed, Raufu Wale Raheem and Sanlabiu Owolabi Teslim between August and September 2018 at Lagos within the Ikeja Judicial Division obtained the total sum of N175,000,000.00 (One Hundred and Seventy-five Million Naira Only) from Dr. and Dr. (Mrs) Lateef Oladimeji Bello for the purpose of conducting spiritual prayers for spiritual cleansing of their son and the family and that the money will be refunded one week after the prayers which you knew to be false.”

They all pleaded “not guilty” to the charges when they were read to them,prompting the commencement of their trial.

Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, N. K.Ukoha, during the sitting on Friday, Wasiu Giwa, an Assistant Superintendent of the Police, identified the suspects in the dock and also narrated how he and his team members arrested them in the Ikorodu area of Lagos.

He said: “ In July 2021, I got a call from DCP Abba Kyari , who was then our team leader before I was transferred out of Abuja. He informed me about a fraud discovered in the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, being handled by the EFCC. He said some of the suspects had been arrested, while others were at large. I was ordered by him to arrest the fleeing suspects.

“Their phone numbers were given to me; and from there, I got the location of the suspects. Some of my men and I traced them to Gberigbe in Ikorodu.”

Giving further testimony, he said: “The suspects were arrested inside a house. When we got to their hideout, the suspects attempted to run away. Raheem went on to climb the ceiling, the second suspect too ran away, while the third suspect managed to escape through the fence into the next compound. We jumped into that building and arrested one of them immediately. The others were still missing.

“While my men jumped over the fence in search of the suspects, someone, who was going in the street, quietly informed us that the suspect we were looking for had hidden somewhere. So, we went there to arrest him.

“During this operation, the three suspects who were arrested were taken to Abuja for further interrogations. They were also informed of the reason for their arrest.”

According to him, the suspects confessed to have duped a woman, identified as Dr.(Mrs ) Bello, of the sum of N675 million, after they had assured her of conducting a spiritual cleansing for her son.

Wasiu also told the court that during their interrogations in Abuja, their confessional statements were video-recorded through the NPF Camera and copied on the Nigeria Police laptop computer as well as a flash drive.

The PW3 added that “the flash drive was given to the EFCC, while the suspects were also handed over to the Commission.”

Thereafter, the prosecution counsel sought to tender the video as evidence before the court.

However, the defence counsel, particularly Olalekan Ojo, SAN, representing the 3rd and 4th defendants, objected to the admissibility of the video, on the grounds that the confessional statements “were made under duress” and that “the documents were obtained through the instrumentality of coercion.”

The defence counsel also submitted that the defendants’ lawyers were not with them when the confessional statements were obtained from them.

Ojo further argued that the witness did not occupy the position that warranted his use of electronic devices such as operating a video. “Is the flash drive a documentary evidence?” he asked.

Justice Oshodi adjourned the case till October 11, 2024 for ruling and continuation of trial.