A former court registrar, Oluronke Idowu Rosulu, has been sentenced to a 10 year jail term by a Lagos State High Court for obtaining money by false pretence from former Chief of Army Staff, Ishaya Bamaiyi, a retired General.
The former judicial worker was arraigned before Justice Lateef Lawal Akapo of the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a two- count charge of conspiracy and obtaining money under false pretence.
She allegedly conspired with Popular Lagos socialite, Fred Ajudua, who was tried for multiple cases of fraud and is on the run from the law after jumping bail, to defraud Bamaiyi of sums totalling $8.4 million while he was in detention at the Kirikiri Maximum Prison, Lagos.
The former army chief was at that time being tried for the attempted murder of the late publisher of Guardian Newspapers, Chief Alex Ibru.
Rosulu was initially charged with Ajudua before Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye for the crime but she opted for a separate trial and was subsequently charged before Justice Akapo.
Rosulu and Ajudua are said to have collected the money from Bamaiyi between November 2004 and June 2005 by telling him that it was a part payment for the professional fees charged by Afe Babalola, SAN, to handle his case.
Interestingly, Ajudua was at this time also an inmate in the same prison as the former army chief, detained for multiple scams.
Delivering his judgment on Monday, Justice Akapo held that the prosecution presented incriminating documents linking her with Ajudua and that there was no doubt that there was conspiracy between the two of them.
“I hold that the accused visited Kirikiri prison on three occasions; with this, there is no doubt on the intention to defraud”, he said.
In proving its case, the prosecution called six witnesses, including Bamaiyi, who told the court that Rosulu came to see him several times in prison.
The EFCC also presented to the court the result of a polygraph test administered on Rosulu between November 2004 and June 2005 which showed that she lied when she denied involvement in the scam.