Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, has scheduled the commencement of the trial for Oriyomi Idowu and Ruth Idowu on January 10, 2024. The couple faces 20-count charges brought by the Lagos Zonal Command of the EFCC, including obtaining money by false pretense, money laundering, stealing, retention of stolen property, and forgery, involving N2,757,188,000.00.
By Shalom Kasim
The charges extend to Ruth Idowu’s companies: Food Commodity Processing Enterprise, Bonway Food Processing Company Limited, Samee Idowu Company Limited, and Farmex Integrated Companies Limited.
One count alleges the conversion of N10,000,000 to purchase a GLK Benz, derived from converting N500,000,000 belonging to Creditpro Business Support Services. Another accuses them of dishonestly retaining N936,619,876 in a UBA bank account, funds fraudulently obtained from Creditpro Business Support Services.
The defendants pleaded “not guilty,” prompting an adjournment until December 15, 2023, for the hearing of bail applications. During the proceedings, James Alara, counsel for Ruth, withdrew the initial bail motion, replacing it due to the inclusion of medical reports on her health status. The prosecution requested time to authenticate the medical reports.
Babatunde Ogala, SAN, counsel for Oriyomi, moved a bail application for his client, emphasizing no criminal records and cooperation during investigations. Justice Dada granted bail to Oriyomi in the sum of N250 million, with stringent conditions for two sureties, gainful employment, and a lien on their bank accounts. Oriyomi must also deposit his international passport with the Chief Registrar of the court.
The court adjourned the bail hearing for Ruth until December 20, 2023, and scheduled the trial to proceed on January 10 and February 2, 2024.
