How Osun Speaker was duped– Witness
From Fisayo Akinduro, Osogbo
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A police officer, Mr. Adetunji Adejare, has told the Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo how the speaker of the state House of Assembly, Mr. Timothy Owoeye, was defrauded to the tune of N38million by some men suspected to be fraudsters.
The defendants are: “Kazeem Agbabiaka, AbduRasheed Ojonla, Oyebode Femi, Babatunde Oluajo, Adebiyi Kehinde, Oyebamiji Oyeniyi, Ismaila Azeez and Awodunmola Kehinde.
It will be recalled that the new speaker was allegedly caught bathing with blood at the Assembly complex in 2018.
The Investigative Police Officer, while testifying before the court, narrated how the accused were arrested with telephone tracker and how the investigation took the police to Imesi-Ile, Ekiti, Lagos and Abuja.
He told the court how the investigative team was led to the shrine of one of the defendants at Arubiidi, Ile-Ife and Olojabala via Osunjela, where the complainant was subjected to “inhuman treatment.
In his evidence Adejare, a Sergeant from State Intelligent Bureau, Osun State Command, told the court that the defendants explained the sharing formula of the money in their confessional statements.
“The complainant submitted a petition bordering on advanced fee fraud, conspiracy and threat to life to the Osun police command on July 10, 2018. We commenced investigation with tracking of the phone number of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th defendants.
“We went to Oke-Imesi in Ekiti State, where the 1st defendant was arrested. He later led us to Ado-Ekiti where the 2nd respondent was arrested. We proceeded to Lagos state for the arrest of 3rd respondent, who had travelled to Abuja through flight. The Intelligent Response Team, Abuja, eventually arrested him with tracker.
“The 1st defendant claimed to have bought a Toyota Highlander Jeep and the 2nd respondent confessed to have used his own share to purchase the same type of Jeep, but had not been delivered to him.
The witness further told the court that one Tosin Bamidele, who was said to be a dealer, was arrested through the help of the Director of AMK motors in Ibadan.
“The dealer confessed that the 4th defendant, Babatunde Oluajo, paid him in US dollar for the two jeeps bought by the 1st and 2nd defendants.
The witness explained how the investigative team recovered dollar and naira currencies, including an unregistered Toyota Highlander Jeep, single barrel gun, cartridges, and other items, in the residence of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th defendants.
He explained that the 6th defendant, Oyetamiji Oyeniyi was arrested for his role in threatening the life of the complainant and for sending his nude video to one police Sergeant Arawole Jimoh, who volunteered a statement that led to the arrest of the 7th and 8th defendants that have been using the video to extort money from friends and associates of the complainant.
However, attempt by the prosecution counsel, Mr Moses Faremi, to tender the statements of the defendants was opposed by their counsels. Messrs Kazeem Badmus, J. P. Jones, O. U. Yusuf and Chief A. Olodo. The defence lawyers argued that the statements were signed by their clients under duress.
The court, therefore, adjourned the matter till July 1, for trial within trial.
