Admin l Saturday, February 19, 2022
IKOYI, Lagos, Nigeria – A Federal High sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos on Friday remanded one Olalekan Mutholib in custody over his alleged role in money-doubling scam using diabolical means.
Olalekan Mutholib who was arraigned by by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before Justice Nicholas Oweibo entered a “not guilty” plea to the five-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence.
According to the charge sheet,marked FHC/L/23c/2022, the defendant and one Nurudeen Gbolagade Rasheed at large, sometime in 2021 in Lagos, and with intent to defraud allegedly knowingly conspired with others at large, to obtain the sums of $50,000, $30,909.06, $20,000 and N1,050,000.60.
According to EFCC, the $50,000 was obtained from one Raji Babatunde.
The defendants were accused of falsely representing themselves “as possessing power or capable of doubling or otherwise increasing the said sum through the medium of invocation of juju or other an invisible entity.”
Prosecution counsel Bilkisu Buhari said the offences contravened Section 8(a), 2(b) and Section 2(c) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006 of the Act.
Following Mutholib’s plea, his counsel Oludare Adetoki informed the court that he had filed an application for bail but had only just served the prosecution. But Buhari indicated her intention to oppose him and prayed the court to adjourn for her to file a counter-affidavit against the bail application.
Granting her prayer, Justice Oweibo adjourned till March 1, 2022, to take arguments for and against the motion for bail.
