Prosecutor’s absence stalls Seun Egbegbe’s fraud trial

                                                     

Oladimeji Ramon

The trial of a Nigerian film maker, Olajide Kazeem, better known as Seun Egbede, for alleged serial frauds involving N39, 098,100, $90,000 and £12,550 was stalled on Wednesday due to the absence of the prosecuting counsel for the police, Mr. Innocent Anyigor.

The trial judge, Justice Oluremi Oguntoyinbo, of the Federal High Court in Lagos, told Egbegbe and his co-defendants that the prosecutor had written to the court that he would be out of jurisdiction on an official duty.

The judge consequently adjourned the case till October 3, 2017, while she ordered the defendants, who had yet to perfect their bail conditions, to return to the prison custody.

Egbegbe is standing trial alongside Oyekan Ayomide, Lawal Kareem, Olalekan Yusuf and Muyideen Shoyombo.

The defendants were accused of swindling no fewer than 30 Bureau De Change operators in Lagos of various sums both in local and foreign currencies between 2015 and 2017.

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 N2.45m and £,3,000 from one Alhaji Isa Adamu in Lagos under the guise that they wanted to sell the naira and buy the pounds.

Among the other victims of the alleged frauds by Egbede were Mohammed Sanni, who was allegedly defrauded of N2.46m on 2017 New Year day; Jubrila Ado, allegedly defrauded of N1.257m on September 9, 2016; Hassan Amodu, allegedly defrauded of N600,000 in January 2016; Sanni Hassan, defrauded off N1.43 and £2,750 in August 2015; Saidi Abdullahi, defrauded of N700,000 on April 18, 2016; Atairu Abdullahi, defrauded of N1m on June 23, 2016; and Abdullahi Babadisa, defrauded of N650,000 in January 2016.

The police prosecutor, 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.

But when the charges were read to them, they all pleaded not guilty.