Pascal Arogorn Ibe
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Wednesday arraigned an Ibadan based lawyer, Adesile Obasa, and four others on an 11-count charge of conspiracy, forgery, and obtaining money under false pretence.
The other accused who were docked before Justice Omolara Adeyemi of the Oyo State High Court were Temitope Akintunde, Fasuhanmi Omotayo, Batom Golden Links Service Ltd and Mekash Intergrated Ventures Limited.
The EFCC accused them of conspiring to defraud several investors of N2.4 million.
According to the EFCC, the unsuspecting investors were told to invest in a lottery in the company Batom Golden Links Service limited and Mekash Integrated Ventures for a 50 percent monthly returns.
All the accused pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The defence counsel applied orally for the defendants’ bail but prosecution counsel, Murtala Usman, opposed the application and asked for a trial date.
However, the court granted them bail in the sum of Two million and two sureties in like sum.
The sureties are to provide valid means of identification which will be verified by the EFCC. The sureties must have evidence of landed property in Ibadan and submit their International passport with the court.
The judge adjourned the case till 15 February 2021 for commencement of trial.
Trouble started for the defendants following a petition from Pralarg International to the EFCC, alleging that Akintunde along with four others, sometime in 2017 approached the complainant to invest in the company with an agreement to pay 50% return to the investors at the end of every month.
In the course of investigations, the EFCC discovered that Obasa, who claims to be the chairman of the Young Lawyers Association, Oyo State chapter, prepared the agreement form given to the investors.
The EFCC said Obasa failed to carry out due diligence to verify the registration status of the company with the National Lottery Regulatory Commission.
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