Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye of a Lagos State High Court has ordered the
remand of a 77-year-old woman, Alhaja Mulikat Shonekan, in the custody of the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Shonekan, who is a community leader in Lagos, is to remain in the custody
of the anti-graft commission till she would meet the court’s bail conditions of
N5m and two sureties in like sum.
The sureties, the court said, must show evidence of tax remittance to
the coffers of the Lagos State Government in the last three years.
The septuagenarian, who was barely able to walk and took several minutes
to climb the staircase, was brought before the court on the allegation of
conspiracy, advanced fee fraud and issuance of dud cheques.
Charged alongside Shonekan on five counts bordering on the alleged crime
were her company ─ Mujekanm Petroleum Nigeria Limited ─ and one Martins
Ogiogwa.
It was alleged that the three accused persons conspired to obtain N65m
from the director of Kuta Stones Limited, Danladi Verheijen, under the pretext
that the said sum was the cost of 90 acres of land at Kemta Ososun village,
Ogun State.
The offence, according to the EFCC, was committed sometime in September,
2008, contrary to sections 8(a) and 1(3) of the Advanced Fee Fraud and other
related Offences Act No. 14 of 2006.
The EFCC said the offence also contravened Section 390 of the Criminal
Code, Cap C17, Vol 2, Law of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2003.
The commission further alleged that Shonekan and her company issued dud
cheques twice in the sum of N5m to the complainant on July 15 and 21, 2011.
This was said to have contravened Section 1(1) of Dishonoured Cheque
(Offences) Act, Cap D11, Law of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
However, when arraigned before Ipaye on Wednesday, the three accused
persons pleaded not guilty to all the counts.
Consequent upon this, the EFCC counsel, A.B.C. Ozioko, pleaded with the
court to remand them in custody.
However, counsel for the accused, Bamidele Ogundele and Austin
Akpomreta, said they had filed bail applications and urged the court to admit
the accused persons to bail in liberal terms.
Ogundele urged the court to consider Shonekan’s old age, adding that she
had been suffering from ill-health and had been on hospital admission in the
custody of the EFCC.
Akpomreta, in his submission, argued that Ogiogwa’s offence was not a
capital offence, adding that his client was a first time offender and had
willingly surrendered himself to the EFCC.
But the EFCC opposed the applications, saying the likelihood that they
would abscond was high.
Ipaye, however, said she had found from the fact before the court that
Shonekan was unlikely to abscond and granted her bail in the sum of N5m.
“I have noted that the offences were not capital offences. I have noted
the age and the health status of the first defendant. I am persuaded by the
totality of the evidence placed before this court that the first defendant is
unlikely to abscond if admitted to bail, being a community leader,” Ipaye held.
To Ogiogwa, the court gave a bail of N10m with two sureties, who are to
be blood relations.
The sureties are also to show evidence that they had paid their taxes to
the Lagos State Government in the last three years.
Ogiogwa, who was to be remanded in prison custody, was further ordered
to deposit his traveling documents in the custody of the court.
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