27th June, 2011
A Lagos landlord, Adeiran Ayoola, has used his wife, Dorcas, as a surety at Idimu Police Station to settle a debt he was owing after he was arrested for alleged fraud.
Following this, a Lagos court has ordered that he should be declared wanted and arrested for being cruel to his wife.
Adeniran abandoned his wife at the station and since then he has been on the run.
Mrs Dorcas Ayoola has been charged to Ejigbo Magistrate’s Court after she was used as surety at Idimu Police Station as exchange for the debt owed by her run-away husband.
The 32-year old mother of four went to the station to release her husband but ended up being used as surety for his release.
P.M.NEWS gathered from her that her husband asked her to come to the station when he was arrested to stand in for him while he would go and bring the money he allegedly collected from a man, Tony Taiwo, who rented a one bedroom apartment in his house at 37, Akimade Street, Igando, Lagos.
He reportedly abandoned her at the station and did not return nor bring the money.
The embittered wife told the court that when she contacted him on phone, he told her to sort herself out as he would not appear at the station again.
Adeniran was alleged to have defrauded a prospective tenant, Tony of N110,000 for a one bedroom apartment
P.M.NEWS gathered from Tony that after he paid him the money, Adeniran rented the apartment to another tenant and bolted away with his money.
The matter was reported at Idimu police station and Adeniran was arrested at his place of work at Pipeline Bus Stop Idimu and detained at the station.
P.M.NEWS gathered that he pleaded with Tony and the police to settle the matter at the station because he had money to pay back.
He reportedly called his wife, Dorcas, to come to the station to stand as surety so that he could go and withdraw money and pay Tony, which the wife gladly did. Unknown to her, that it was a ploy for him to escape.
His wife became a suspect and was detained. Since then, Dorcas has not seen him. He neither sleeps in his house nor goes to his place of work, according to her.
The police later granted her bail on condition that if she failed to bring her husband, she would forfeit N110,000 to the Lagos State government.
Since the past two months the incident happened, she said she has not seen her husband to bring him to the station, she lamented.
The police charged her to court for failing to produce her husband as she promised and to compel her to pay the forfeited money to the Lagos State treasure.
At the court, she wept profusely and told the court presided over by Mrs. S. O. Solebo that she was shocked about her husband’s behaviour.
She admitted standing as surety for her husband but pleaded with the court not to send her to jail because of her children who she said were still young had nobody to take care of them.
Dorcas said she had no money to pay.
In the circumstance, the court ordered the police to declare her husband wanted and arrest him.
The court subsequently struck out her matter.
—Cyriacs Izuekwe