Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court, seated in Ikeja, Lagos, has scheduled the commencement of the trial for Mr. Oriyomi Idowu and Mrs. Ruth Idowu on January 10, 2024. The couple, arraigned by the Lagos Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday, November 28, 2023, faces a 20-count charge that includes offenses such as obtaining money by false pretense, money laundering, stealing, retention of stolen property, and forgery. The charges collectively amount to N2,757,188,000.00 (Two Billion, Seven Hundred and Fifty-Seven Million, One Hundred and Eighty-Eight Naira) Only.
The accused are joined by entities associated with Ruth Idowu, namely Food Commodity Processing Enterprise, Bonway Food Processing Company Limited, Samee Idowu Company Limited, and Farmex Integrated Companies Limited.
One of the counts alleges that the defendants, in 2023 in Lagos, converted N10,000,000 to purchase a GLK Benz, funds derived from converting N500,000,000 belonging to Creditpro Business Support Services, with the intention of disguising the illegal origin of the funds. Another count accuses them of dishonestly retaining N936,619,876 in a UBA bank account, funds known to be fraudulently obtained from Creditpro Business Support Services.
The defendants entered a plea of “not guilty,” leading to an adjournment until Friday, December 15, 2023, for the hearing of their bail applications.
During the subsequent proceedings, James Alara, counsel for Ruth Idowu, informed the court of the withdrawal of the initial bail motion and the submission of a new one, citing the inclusion of medical reports on the health status of the first defendant. Bilikisu Buhari, counsel for the EFCC, responded, stating that the prosecution had already replied to the withdrawn application and received the new one on December 11, 2023. She emphasized the need to authenticate the medical reports attached to the new bail application.
Babatunde Ogala, SAN, counsel for Oriyomi Idowu, moved the bail application for his client, urging the court to dismiss the prosecution’s counter-affidavit. He argued for bail on liberal terms, emphasizing his client’s clean record and compliance during investigations.
In response, Buhari presented a counter-affidavit of the prosecution, stating that bail is at the discretion of the court and requesting terms that ensure the defendants’ appearance.
Justice Dada granted bail to the second defendant, Oriyomi Idowu, in the sum of N250 million, with two sureties in like sum. The sureties must demonstrate gainful employment and agree to a lien on their bank accounts. Additionally, the defendant was ordered to deposit his international passport with the Chief Registrar of the court.
The court adjourned the bail hearing for the first defendant to December 20, 2023, and further scheduled the trial for January 10 and February 2, 2024.
