A High Court of Lagos State judge, Justice Mojisola Dada has withdrawn from a fraud case instituted against one Murtala Adebayo following a petition on alleged irregularities in processing of bail by the defendant.

CITY LAWYER gathered that in the course of the trial, a petitioner had alleged that the defendant used “phony” Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) documents as well as fake tax documents to secure bail from the court.

Noting that the allegation cast doubt on the integrity of the court, Justice Dada withdrew from the case and returned the case file to the Lagos State Chief Judge.

Following the re-assignment of the case to Justice Rahman Oshodi, the defendant was re-arraigned last Tuesday by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a three-count charge bordering on fraud. The defendant took his plea in Yoruba language and pleaded “Not guilty” to the charge.

One of the counts reads: “Murtala Adebayo, sometime in 2015 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of N4,500,000 (Four Million Five Hundred Thousand Naira) from one Gafar Abiodun Ademolake by falsely representing to him that the payment was for three plots of land at Ogombo Ajah, Lagos, which representation you knew to be false.”

Another count reads: “Murtala Adebayo, sometime in 2019 at Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, obtained three cars, two Toyota Camry 2005 model and one Honda Accord 2006 model all at an agreed value of N9,000,000.00 from one Gafar Abiodun Ademolake by falsely representing to him that the payment was for balance payment of 18 plots of land at Ayogbemi Village, Ibeju, Lekki, Lagos, a representation you knew to be false.”

The prosecuting counsel, Mr. S. M. Yabo prayed the court for a trial date to enable the prosecution to call its witnesses and tender relevant documents to prove the case against the defendant.

The defence counsel, Mr. Bamidele Ogundele, urged the court to allow the defendant to enjoy the bail earlier granted him by Justice Dada. Another Prosecution counsel, Mr. Martins Oyigbo, who was allowed to address the court on the plea to adopt the previous bail conditions, raised the issue of the alleged forged documents presented before the previous court. He urged the court not to grant bail to the defendant based on the allegations.

Justice Oshodi however granted bail to the defendant in the sum of N5 million with one surety in like sum and a lien of N5,000,000 ( Five Million Naira) placed on the surety’s personal account. The court further ordered that the surety must enroll in the surety registration management system.

The case was adjourned to March 7, 2025 for trial.

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