N8BN CBN STOLEN MONEY:SUSPECTS ADMIT COMMITTING CRIME

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Thursday told Justice Adeyinka Faaji of the Federal High Court, Ibadan Division, that some of the accused persons in the N8bn mutilated currency fraud confessed to committing the offence during investigation.
The lead counsel for the EFCC, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), during the continuation of the suit in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, specifically told the court that one of the accused, Mrs. Olunike Esther Afolabi, confessed to making N30m in one of the deals.
He also told the court how one of the accused persons, Oni Dolapo, conspired to defraud the Central Bank of Nigeria of N1.3bn under the pretext that the sum in mutilated notes, which came from Wema Bank, was meant to be destroyed.
The EFCC counsel said Dolapo in his confessional statement admitted that the amount was contained in 173 boxes from the CBN vault.
The prosecution counsel said the accused person used the proceeds of his fraudulent act to buy choice property in Ibadan and other places.
Some of the property, according to Jacobs, included four plots of land at Eleyele, Ibadan valued at N3m, three acres of land at Ona-Ara, Ibadan and two acres of land at Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State, which he acquired in 2012.
The EFCC also alleged that Mrs. Afolabi, who allegedly confessed to have made N30m from the deal, owned filling stations, tankers, borehole drilling machine, a Kia Cerato car and a house at No 15, Akuru, Oluyole extension in Ibadan.
Jacobs told the court that Mrs. Afolabi also confessed that she owned one old house around Faleke, Challenge area of Ibadan which she bought for N7m.
Mrs. Afolabi, the EFCC lead counsel added, used N4m to renovate the building in 2012.
Jacobs added that Mrs. Afolabi had N10m in a bank account.
The counsel for Ademola Adewale, O. E. Ige and D.G. Olufokunbi, however, prayed the court to grant his clients bail because their offence was not as serious as others.
Olalekan Ojo, who is counsel for Olaniran Muniru and Kayode Philips, also prayed the court to grant his clients bail because they did not abscond when they were granted an administrative bail at the inception of investigation by the EFCC.
Jacobs, however, opposed the bail applications by all the accused persons.
He argued that since the accused persons had admitted that they committed the crime during investigation, the court should grant accelerated hearing instead of wasting time on bail applications.
Justice Faaji fixed June 19 for ruling on the bail applications.