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| EFCC |
The Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned a former medical director
of the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, Ondo State, Dr Olufemi Abiodun Omotosho,
and four other suspects, Adebayo Sunday Dada; Yusuf Saka Olanrewaju; Ogunleye
Samson Adeyemi and Azeez Dayo Kola, before Justice M. I. Sani of the Federal
High Court sitting in Akure, Ondo State, on an eight-count charge bordering on
conspiracy and money laundering.
According to
the spokesperson of the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, the accused persons were docked
for allegedly colluding to convert and launder the sum of N84,884,005 illegally
obtained from the federal government.
The first
accused person was said to have connived with the other four suspects to steal
various sums of money belonging to the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, by using
his position as the medical director of the institution through inflation of
contracts, accounts manipulation and non-remittance of the institution’s
account balances as mandated by the Central Bank of Nigeria on December 31 of
each year.
The first
accused person is already facing a corruption charge before Justice Lateef
Lawal Akapo of the Lagos State High Court, for allegedly conniving with his
lawyer to bribe operatives of the EFCC.
One of the
charges read; “You, Dr Olufemi Abiodun Omotosho, Adebayo Sunday Dada, Yusuf
Saka Olarenwaju, Ogunleye Samson Adeyemi, Azeez Dayo Kola, sometime in July
2013 at Owo, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, did convert the
sum of N22,641,164.92, property of the Federal Government of Nigeria, which sum
you knew represented the proceeds of a crime with the aim of concealing the
nature of the proceeds of the said crime and thereby committed an offence
punishable under section 15 of the Money Laundering ( Prohibition ) Act No. 11,
2011 (as amended)”.
The accused
persons pleaded not guilty to all the charges. The lawyer representing the 2nd
and 5th defendants, Femi Emmanuel, as well as the lawyer representing the 3rd
and 4th defendants, Dapo Agbede, both filed formal bail applications before the
court. However, the lawyer representing the first defendant, Rotimi Olorunfemi,
moved an oral bail application, praying the court to admit his client to bail.
Justice Sani
adjourned the case to November 17, 2015 for the hearing of bail applications
and ordered that the defendants be remanded in EFCC custody pending the
determination of bail.
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