Two men – Odunayo Rasheed, 61, and Abraham Osagie, 39, – have been arraigned before a Tinubu Chief Magistrate Court in Lagos on charges of alleged conspiracy, forgery, and obtaining the sum of N20 million by false presence.
Operatives of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (Force CID) Annex, Alagbon-Ikoyi, Lagos, arraigned the two suspects arraigned before Chief Magistrate B. A. Sonuga.
According to the prosecutor, S. A. Ogala, the suspects allegedly defrauded Kingsley Ugochukwu Chinedu, Chigozie Raymond Inno and others of the sum of N20 million, under the false pretence of procuring them United Kingdom visas.
Ogala told the court that the two defendants and others at large committed the fraud sometime in October 2023, at the premises of the United Kingdom Embassy, Lagos.
The prosecutor alleged that to perpetrate the unlawful acts, the defendants forged some documents which they used in convincing their victims.
He further told the court that the illegal acts of the defendants contravene sections 411; 356(1) and 314 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015 and are punishable under the same Laws.
The two defendants, Odunayo and Abraham, denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty to the three counts charge made against them.
Following their not-guilty plea to the charge, the prosecutor asked the court for a trial date, while urging the court to remand the suspects in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCoS), pending the conclusion of the matter.
The defendants however, through their lawyer orally applied for bail, on the ground that they are first-time offenders and the charges against them are bailable ones.
Based on this submission, Chief Magistrate Sonuga admitted each of the defendants to bail in the sum of N2 million with two sureties each.
He also ordered that each of the sureties must reside within the court’s jurisdiction, with evidence of tax payment to the Lagos State Government amongst other conditions.
Chief Magistrate Sonuga ordered that the two suspects be remanded with the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCoS), pending the perfection of the bail conditions.
The matter was adjourned to October 16, 2024 for mention.
The charges against the two defendants read: “That you, Odunayo Olaniyi Rasheed and Abraham Ebaluegbeifo Osagie and others now at large, sometime in October 2023, at the United Kingdom Embassy, Lagos State, within the Magisterial District of this honourable Court, did conspire amongst yourselves to wit: forgery and obtaining money by false pretence and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.
“That you Odunayo Olaniyi Rasheed and Abraham Ebaluegbeifo Osagie and others now at large, sometime in October 2023, at the United Kingdom Embassy, Lagos State, within the Magisterial District of this honourable Court, did forged documents in support of some Nigerians who intend to visit/travel to United Kingdom and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 356(1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.
“That you Odunayo Olaniyi Rasheed and Abraham Ebaluegbeifo Osagie and others now at large, sometime in October 2023, at the United Kingdom Embassy, Lagos State, within the magisterial district of this honourable court, did fraudulently obtain the sum of N20, 000, 000 (Twenty-Five Million Naira) from one Kingsley Ugochukwu Chinedu, Chigozie RAYMOND INNO, and others under the pretence that you will provide a valid United Kingdom Visa, a representation you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 314 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.”