Trial of Lagos couple nabbed for N2.7bn fraud begins January 10

By Alagbe Shenayon On Dec 19, 2023

Justice Mojisola Dada, presiding over the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, has scheduled the trial initiation for a couple, Oriyomi Idowu and Ruth Idowu. The couple was charged by the Lagos Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on November 28, 2023, with the trial set to commence on January 10, 2024.

According to a statement on Tuesday from the EFCC’s X handle, the couple, Oriyomi and Ruth Idowu, faced arraignment on 20 counts related to offenses such as obtaining money through false pretense, money laundering, theft, retention of stolen property, and forgery, amounting to N2.7 billion. Additionally, they were jointly arraigned with Food Commodity Processing Enterprise, Bonway Food Processing Company Limited, Samee Idowu Company Limited, and Farmex Integrated Companies Limited, all of which are affiliated with Ruth Idowu.

One of the counts read, “Ruth Sameeha Idowu, aka Loiry Ventures, Oriyomi Kabeer Idowu, aka Yocli Ventures, Food Commodity Processing Enterprise, Bonway Food Processing Company Limited, Samee Idowu Company Limited, Farmex Integrated Companies Limited, sometime in 2023 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this court, converted the sum of N10m to purchase a GLK Benz, purchase sum derived from converting the sum of N500m belonging to Creditpro Business Support Services with the aim of disguising the illegal origin of the funds.”

The statement further read, “The defendants pleaded ‘not guilty’ to the charges when they were read to them, thereby prompting the court to adjourn till Friday, December 15, 2023, for hearing of their bail applications.”

“At Friday’s proceedings, James Alara, counsel for Ruth, who is the first defendant, informed the court that he was withdrawing an earlier motion for the bail of his client, and replacing it with a new one ‘due to the need to include the medical reports on the health status of the first defendant”.

“Counsel for the EFCC, Bilikisu Buhari, however, responded that the prosecution had earlier replied to the application being withdrawn and that it only received the new application on December 11, 2023.”

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“She explained further that the prosecution needed to authenticate the said medical reports attached to the new bail application.”

Subsequently, Alara requested a brief adjournment from the court to consider his client’s new bail application, citing the health condition of the first defendant.

“On his part, Babatunde Ogala, SAN, counsel for Oriyomi, the second defendant, moved the bail application for his client.”

Deciding on the bail request for the second defendant, Justice Dada approved bail set at N250 million, requiring two sureties to provide a similar sum.

Furthermore, Justice Dada postponed the bail hearing for the first defendant until December 20, 2023, and scheduled the trial to resume on January 10 and February 2, 2024.