By Onyewuchi Ojinnaka
A self acclaimed female evangelist Ibironke Olaleye and her co-defendant Mr Sadiq Babatunde were on Tuesday arraigned alongside her company Resal Energy Ltd by Inspector General of Police before a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos Nigeria for alleged fraud to the tune of over N74 million.
Ibironke Olaleye and Sadiq Babatunde were alleged to have used Resal Energy Ltd to defraud a firm called Fast Plane Ltd.
The three defendants were arraigned before Justice Saliu Saidu on 10 counts charge of conspiracy and obtaining money by false pretence and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 8(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006.
According to the charge signed by the prosecuting counsel, Henry Obiazi from the Legal/Prosecution Section of FCIID, Alagbon Close, Annex Lagos, the defendants were alleged to have at various times within Ikorodu, in the Lagos Judicial Division, defrauded Fast Plane Ltd various sums of money totalling N74,169, 000.The alleged offences range from purported supplying of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), DPK, and issuance of Dud cheque valued N9,900,000.
After listening to the charge preferred against them, they pleaded not guilty to all the counts,
They were however, admitted to bail in the sum of N20 million each and two sureties each in the same sum.
The judge ruled that one of the sureties should be a relation of each of the defendants with evidence of landed property in Lagos and residing in Lagos while the second surety must be civil or public servant with either the Lagos State or Federal Government of Nigeria on Grade Level 15 or above, serving in Lagos.
“The prosecutor and the registrar of this court must be satisfied with the sureties while the defendants and sureties must also submit their passport photograph to the registrar of this court.
“The defendants for the time being will be handed over to their counsel pending the perfection of bail.
“The defendants must complete the process of bail before next date.
“Case is adjourned to March 11 for trial” the judge concluded.
Suffice it to say that the first defendant Ibironke Olaleye had late last year been arraigned and she pleaded not guilty to the charge but consequent upon the amended charge dated January 14, 2020 in which Mr Sadiq Babatunde was joined as co-defendant to the charge, the matter started De Novo ( afresh), hence a fresh plea of not guilty by the defendants.
Some of the counts read: “That you Ibironke Olaleye ‘F’, Sadiq Babatunde ‘M’, Resal Energy Ltd and others still at large, sometimes in October 2015, at Ikorodu in the Lagos Judicial Division of this Honourable court did conspired among yourselves to commit felony to wit: Obtaining money by false pretence and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 8 (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.
“That you Ibironke Olaleye (49), Sadiq Babatunde (35), Resal Energy Ltd and others still at large, on the same date, place and in the aforementioned judicial division of this Honourable court did by false pretence and with intent to defraud obtain the sum of Eight Million, Sixty Eight Thousand Naira ( N8,068,000) only from Fast Plane Ltd under the guise of supplying three trucks of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) at N81.5 per litre and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 1(a)(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.
“That you Ibironke Olaleye ‘F’, Sadiq Babatunde’M’ , Resal Energy Ltd and others still at large on the 26th day of October, 2015 at Ikorodu in the Lagos Judicial Division of this Honourable court did with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of Two million, Forty Eight Thousand Naira (N2,048,000) from Fast Plane Ltd under the guise of supplying 22 ,000 litres of DPK at N93 per litre and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 1 (a) (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.
“That you Ibironke Olaleye ‘F’, Sadiq Babatunde ‘M’, Resal Energy Ltd and others still at large sometimes in November 2016 at Ikorodu in the Lagos Judicial Division of this Honourable court, did by false pretence and with intent to defraud obtain the sum of Twenty Seven million, Seven hundred and twenty thousand (N27,720,000) from Fast Plane Ltd under the guise of supplying Eight trucks of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) at N105 per litre and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 1 (a) (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.
“That you Ibironke Olaleye ‘F’, Sadiq Babatunde ‘M’, Resal Energy Ltd and others still at large sometimes in September 2015, at Ikorodu in the Lagos Judicial Division, of this Honourable court did by false pretence and with intent to defraud obtain the sum of Twelve million, five hundred thousand Naira (N12,500,000) from Fast Plane Ltd under the guise of using the money to pay for the Approval and Penalty Default Fees which you failed to pay to State Government and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 1 (a) (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006.
“That you Ibironke Olaleye ‘F’ and Resal Energy Ltd sometimes in March 2016 at Ikorodu in the Lagos Judicial Division of this Honourable court did issue Zenith Bank Plc cheque number 19126007 dated 13th of March, 2016 in favour of Fast Plane Ltd for the sum of Nine million,Nine hundred thousand Naira (N9,900,000) which was presented for payment within three months after the date of the cheque, but was dishonoured on the ground that no funds or insufficient funds were standing to your credit at the Zenith Bank Plc on which the cheque is drawn and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 1 (1)(a)(i) of the dishonoured cheques ( Offences) Act, Cap D 11 LFN, 2004.