Olajide Kareem, also known as Seun Egbegbe, is a producer and director of Nollywood films who has been released from prison after serving six years and eight months of his sentence.
After allegedly receiving money under false pretense from no less than 40 Bureaus De Change operators in various areas of Lagos for more than two years between 2015 and 2017, Egbegbe was placed on detention on February 10.
He was charged with defrauding the BDC operators by saying he had naira to exchange for foreign currencies.
The police charged the 45-year-old member of the Yoruba movie industry with fraud in the amount of N39m; $90,000 and £12,550 and N39,098,100 respectively.
The former manager of Fuji artists Wale Ayinde, Tekoma, and Pasuma, Egbegbe, was charged with defrauding BDC operators.
Unfortunately, more than three years after posting bail, the filmmaker who supported the creation of multiple Yoruba movies under his Ebony Films Productions banner had failed to meet bail conditions.
On February 10, 2017, the ex-convict and a person named Oyekan Ayomide were initially charged with 36 counts of alleged advance fee fraud before Justice Oluremi Oguntoyinbo.
Later, Lawal Kareem, Olalekan Yusuf, and Muyideen Shoyombo joined the pair on a 44-count accusation against them.
On Tuesday, however, the court released Egbegbe after finding him guilty of just one of the 44 crimes brought against him.
Due to a lack of witnesses to back up their accusations, 43 of the 44 counts of the charges, according to Justice Oguntoyinbo, were dismissed.
The prosecuting team failed, according to the judge, to present evidence for Counts 4, 19, and 21 that was supported by witnesses.
The police tampered with the money taken from the accused, the judge added.
Additionally, Justice Oguntoyinbo determined that Egbegbe should receive a refund for all of the money that was taken from him as evidence.
