The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday arraigned the Speaker of Ogun State House of Assembly, Olakunle Oluomo, for allegedly diverting N2.5 billion belonging to the Assembly.
The Speaker and two others were arraigned before a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos State.
Oluomo and the other defendants, Adeyemo Adedeji Taiwo, Oladayo Samuel and Adeyanju Amoke (now at large), were arraigned on 11 counts of conspiracy, forgery, stealing and money laundering preferred against them by the EFCC.
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Rotimi Oyedepo, counsel for EFCC, told the court that the defendants committed the alleged offences in Ogun State between 2019 and 2022.
The EFCC lawyer said the suspects allegedly stole the sum of N2.475 billion from the treasury of Ogun State House of Assembly.
However, the defendants pleaded not guilty after which their lawyer applied to the court to grant them bail.
The presiding judge, Daniel Osiagor, while ruling on the bail application, admitted the Speaker to bail in the sum of N300 million, with two sureties in like sum; one of whom must be at least a level 16 civil servant in the federal civil service.
The second and third defendants were granted bail in the sum of N100 million each with two sureties each in like sum, one of whom must not be less than level 14 in the civil service.
The judge said all the sureties must possess landed property within the court’s jurisdiction and the title documents are to be deposited with the court’s registrar.
The sureties must also possess three-year tax clearance certificates and swear to an affidavit of means.
Justice Isiagor 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 they would be transferred to the Nigerian Correctional Service facility in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance