Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye of a Lagos State High Court has ordered the remand of a 77-year-old woman, Alhaja Mulikat Shonekan, in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Shonekan, who is a community leader in Lagos, is to remain in the custody of the anti-graft commission till she would meet the court’s bail conditions of N5m and two sureties in like sum.
The sureties, the court said, must show evidence of tax remittance to the coffers of the Lagos State Government in the last three years.
The septuagenarian, who was barely able to walk and took several minutes to climb the staircase, was brought before the court on the allegation of conspiracy, advanced fee fraud and issuance of dud cheques.
Charged alongside Shonekan on five counts bordering on the alleged crime were her company ─ Mujekanm Petroleum Nigeria Limited ─ and one Martins Ogiogwa.
It was alleged that the three accused persons conspired to obtain N65m from the director of Kuta Stones Limited, Danladi Verheijen, under the pretext that the said sum was the cost of 90 acres of land at Kemta Ososun village, Ogun State.
The offence, according to the EFCC, was committed sometime in September, 2008, contrary to sections 8(a) and 1(3) of the Advanced Fee Fraud and other related Offences Act No. 14 of 2006.
The EFCC said the offence also contravened Section 390 of the Criminal Code, Cap C17, Vol 2, Law of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2003.
The commission further alleged that Shonekan and her company issued dud cheques twice in the sum of N5m to the complainant on July 15 and 21, 2011.
This was said to have contravened Section 1(1) of Dishonoured Cheque (Offences) Act, Cap D11, Law of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
However, when arraigned before Ipaye on Wednesday, the three accused persons pleaded not guilty to all the counts.
Consequent upon this, the EFCC counsel, A.B.C. Ozioko, pleaded with the court to remand them in custody.
However, counsel for the accused, Bamidele Ogundele and Austin Akpomreta, said they had filed bail applications and urged the court to admit the accused persons to bail in liberal terms.
Ogundele urged the court to consider Shonekan’s old age, adding that she had been suffering from ill-health and had been on hospital admission in the custody of the EFCC.
Akpomreta, in his submission, argued that Ogiogwa’s offence was not a capital offence, adding that his client was a first time offender and had willingly surrendered himself to the EFCC.
But the EFCC opposed the applications, saying the likelihood that they would abscond was high.
Ipaye, however, said she had found from the fact before the court that Shonekan was unlikely to abscond and granted her bail in the sum of N5m.
“I have noted that the offences were not capital offences. I have noted the age and the health status of the first defendant. I am persuaded by the totality of the evidence placed before this court that the first defendant is unlikely to abscond if admitted to bail, being a community leader,” Ipaye held.
To Ogiogwa, the court gave a bail of N10m with two sureties, who are to be blood relations.
The sureties are also to show evidence that they had paid their taxes to the Lagos State Government in the last three years.
Ogiogwa, who was to be remanded in prison custody, was further ordered to deposit his traveling documents in the custody of the court.
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