By Moji Eniola
Ikeja – An Ikeja High Court on Tuesday remanded a lawyer, Oluwafunmilayo Ademosun, in Ikoyi Prison, for allegedly defrauding a company of N108 million.
Justice Josephine Oyefeso, who ordered the remand. said that the defendant should remain in the prison until March 24 when he should file the necessary applications.
The court also fixed between April 7 and April 10 for trial.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ademosun, apart from being a legal practitioner, is also a banker and the Managing Director of a real estate company — H.T Real Estate Ltd.
He is facing a 19-count charge bordering on obtaining money under false pretences brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He, however, denied all the charges.
According to the anti-graft agency, the lawyer allegedly defrauded Mr Matthew Aiyeola, the Managing Director of Golden Treasure Investment of N108 million in a failed foreign exchange transaction.
Ademosun, who is also a Director of Keystone Bank, had approached Aiyeola to assist him in converting some money to American currency at a fair rate being a director in the bank.
Aiyeola allegedly gave the defendant N108 million with the agreement that the sum would be converted to $921,560, using a fair bank rate.
The defendant allegedly converted the money to personal use and all efforts to retrieve the amount failed.
Ademosun also allegedly issued a dud cheque in the sum of N6 million to Aiyeola as part payment of the N108 million he received from him.
After the dud cheque was issued, Aiyeola petitioned the EFCC on April 17, 2013 over the alleged fraud.
During the proceedings, Ademosun’s counsel, Mr O.A. Fasugba, urged the court to be lenient with the defendant by granting him bail on self-recognizance or on liberal terms.
“My client is a legal practitioner as well as a banker; this is a civil matter and the offence for which he is charged is bailable,’’ Fasugba said.
Opposing the bail application, counsel to the EFCC, Mr Samuel Daji, argued that it took the anti-graft agency three years to apprehend the defendant.
Daji requested that the defendant be remanded in prison while the case should be given accelerated hearing.
“The EFCC had received a petition against the defendant since 2013 and all efforts to arrest him were in vain.
“It took the commission three years before the defendant was apprehended, he should be remanded in prison for the offence,’’ he urged the court.