Admin l Monday, February 22, 2021
IKEJA, Lagos, Nigeria – The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has told a Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja how former Executive Secretary, Lagos State Scholarship Board, Stephen Oshinowo, diverted the sum of N127 million to personal use.
He was arraigned on amended eight-count charges bordering on criminal conversion. The EFCC said investigation conducted revealed that Osinowo, at various times, allegedly diverted to his personal use the said sum meant for the scholarship board.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were read to him. At the resumption of trial, EFCC counsel, Usman Buhari led in evidence an investigator of the agency, Monday Moley, who narrated how the defendant used his account domicile in United Bank of Africa to perpetrate each of alleged fraud on the charge sheet.
Moley further told Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo that sometime in 2018, the defendant received the sum of N30m in three tranches of N10m each from the account of Lagos State Scholarship Board, for the use of staff welfare and office renovation but later converted same to personal use.
Moley stated that upon receiving the petition, the Commission freeze the defendant accounts and commence investigation into the allegations, noting that at the time of freezing the account the defendant has converted parts of the proceed of alleged fraud to personal use.
He said investigation revealed that the defendant sent part of the proceed to his wife, Adenike, pay for flight trips, supermarket sales, POS transactions and kept others in fixed deposit account.
After the testimony, Usman Buhari sought to tender the statements of the defendant. However, the defendant counsel, Lawal Pedro, SAN, opposed on the grounds that the defendant statement was obtained under physical and emotional torture. In his ruling, the judge ordered for trial within trial.
