Alleged N2.4bn fraud: Governor Abiodun won’t interfere in Ogun Speaker’s case – Commissioner

Mr Waheed Odusile, the Ogun State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, stated on Tuesday that the state government would not intervene in the ongoing trial of Olakunle Oluomo, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, over alleged N2.457 billion fraud.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission arraigned Oluomo before a Federal High Court in Lagos State on Tuesday for alleged N2.475 billion money laundering.

Oluomo was charged with conspiracy, forgery, stealing, and money laundering along with three others, Oladayo Samuel, Adeyemo Taiwo, and Adeyanju Amoke (all of whom are still at large).

Odusile, on the other hand, told newsmen that the executive arm, led by Governor Dapo Abiodun, would not meddle in the affairs of the legislative arm.

“Everyone knows that there are three arms of government, and every arm is autonomous. So, we cannot comment on the internal affairs of another arm of the government,” he said.

At the Tuesday proceeding, the EFCC prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, told the court that the defendants committed the alleged offences between 2019 and 2022.

Oyedepo told the court that they stole N2.475bn from the treasury of the Ogun State House of Assembly.

The defendants were arraigned before Justice Daniel Osiagor.

When the charge was read to the defendants, they pleaded not guilty.

Mr Kehinde Ogunwunmiju (SAN) appeared for the first defendant; Akinyemi Aremu for the second defendant and Oluwole Aladedoye for the third defendant.

On September 1, the EFFC’s Lagos Head of Legal Monitoring Unit, Rotimi Oyedepo, filed the charge at the Federal High Court, in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

The Ogun State High Court had on Monday granted the commission’s application for the case to be heard at the Federal High Court in Lagos by the vacation judge.

Ogunwunmiju, while moving the applications for bail for the defendants, urged the court to grant the first defendant bail in liberal terms, adding that Oluomo voluntarily returned to the EFCC office in Lagos on Monday after he was granted administrative bail last Friday.

He said a senator, who had been provided as surety as part of the EFCC bail conditions, was also available to stand as his surety during the trial.

The counsel pleaded with the court that the defendant be remanded at the EFCC Lagos office pending the perfection of his bail conditions.

Both the second defendant, Samuel, who is the Director of Finance at the Ogun State House of Assembly, and the third defendant, Adeyemo, who is the Clerk of the House, have been in EFCC’s custody since last week.

They urged the court to grant them affordable bail conditions on account of being civil servants. They argued that the alleged offences are all bailable.

Justice Osiagor, while ruling on the bail application, admitted the first defendant to bail in the sum of N300m, with two sureties in like sum, one of whom must not be less than a Grade Level 16 civil servant in the Federal Civil Service.

The second and third defendants were granted bail in the sum of N100m, each with two sureties each in like sum, one of whom must not be less than Grade Level 14 in the civil service.

He said all the sureties must possess landed properties within the court’s jurisdiction and title, documents are to be deposited with the court’s register.

The sureties must also possess three-year tax clearance certificates and swear to an affidavit of means.

However, the judge ordered that the defendants be remanded at the EFCC custody for a maximum of one week, and must perfect all their bail conditions by then or else they would be transferred to the Nigerian Correctional facility at Abeokuta.