Court remands ex-newspaper staff in Kirikiri correctional centre

Justice Ismail Ijelu of a Lagos Special Offences Court, Ikeja, has remanded a former staff of Punch Newspapers Limited, Olusegun Ogunbanjo, at the Kirikiri correctional facility over an alleged N950 million fraud.

The court ordered Ogunbanjo to be remanded pending his arraignment.
He adjourned the case till today.

The order was sequel to an ex parte application filed and argued by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Dr Babajide Martins, dated June 19, and supported by a 14-paragraph affidavit.

He submitted that the court had, on May 28, issued a warrant of arrest against the defendant, who had refused to appear in court to answer criminal charges against him.

Martins said the defendant’s counsel, Mr Chijioke Jiakponna, had told the court to produce the defendant for arraignment but failed before the court issued a warrant of arrest.

Recall that besides Ogunbanjo, other defendants in the suit, marked ID/21559C/2023 are: Olawunmi Ogunbanjo, Vaneloo International Limited, Valeco Global Ventures, Bagco Garba, Taofeek Ogunbanjo, Ifeanyi Odogwu, Bound Media Limited, and Godwin Benson.

Ogunbanjo was first arraigned on March 8, 2023 on a three-count charge bordering on obtaining money by pretence, forgery, and stealing before a Magistrate’s court.

The police alleged that the defendant committed the offence between January 2017 and December 2022, in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State.

The defendant was alleged to have obtained N450 million from one Olusola lkuyajesin and N500 million from one Durodola Balogun under the pretence of using the money to buy stationeries.

He was also accused of forging the organisation’s local purchase orders to carry out the acts.

The prosecution said the offences contravened Sections 287, 314, and 365 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, Nigeria, 2015.