26th October, 2022
By Paul Iyoghojie
An 80-year-old grandma, Mujidat Sikiru Okiji and two others accused of duping a customer, Paul Oseghale Abumere N13 million under false pretence have been sent to prison.
Okiji and two others were arrested by the police and charged before a Lagos Magistrate’s Court.
The grandmother was accused of conniving with her accomplices, Oluwakemi Olatunji, 58 and Bada Rasag, 46, to obtain the money from the complainant with the promise to sell a room and parlour bedroom flat apartment to him along Ado Road, Ajah, Lagos.
She was accused of selling the property they earlier sold to one Chinedu Fabian Ekebosi in 2008 for N1,550,000 to the complainant for N13,000,000 in 2021 without the consent of the supposed rightful owner, Ekebosi.
Problem began for the accused when the complainant went to the property he paid for to take over, only to be confronted by Ekebosi, the rightful owner of the property that his property was not for sale and that he never authorized any one to help him sell his property.
Following the ugly development, the complainant, Abumere petitioned the Assistant Inspector General of Police, AIG in charge of Zone 2 Command, Lagos about the matter who directed his men to arrest the suspects.
The accused were charged before the Tinubu Magistrate’s Court, Lagos Island, Lagos Nigeria on a seven-count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining money under false pretence, threat to life and conduct likely to cause breach of peace.
Police counsel, Ibrahim Haruna informed the court in the charge marked B/32/2022 that the defendants committed the offence on 21 April, 2008 and 11 February, 2021 at Ado Community, Ajah, Lagos.
Haruna told the court that the defendants tricked the complainant and collected the N13 million from him and sold another person’s property for him knowing full well that the property belonged to Ekebosi who bought it from them in 2008.
Haruna said the offences, the defendants committed were punishable under sessions 411,52, 314(1)(a), 287, 365(3)(1)(a) 56(1)(a)(b) and 168(1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges and Magistrate B.A. Sonuga granted them N500,000 bail each with two sureties each in like sum.
Sonuga adjourned the case till 23 November, 2022 for mention and ordered that the defendants be detained at the Ikoyi and Kirikiri correctional facility till they perfected the bail conditions.