An Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) investigator, Mr Samuel Adelana on Friday told an Ikeja Special Offences Court how a cleric, Ayodeji Olorunfemi, allegedly defrauded an octogenarian of N36.5 million.
Olorunfemi is standing trial on a three-count charge bordering on obtaining money under false pretenses and stealing.
Adelana, a police officer with EFCC, was led in evidence by counsel to the commission, Mr Ahmed Yerima.
He said that his team received a petition signed by one Mr Adedayo Olayide on behalf of the complainant, Mrs Tawakalitu Ilumooka, against the defendant, sometime in 2018.
The investigative officer said that his team began investigation by writing letters to different banks mentioned in the petition.
“We received a call from one of the banks that one Kayode Isola has been apprehended in the bank.
“A team member went for the arrest and the said Kayode was brought to our office.
“He was shown where his name was mentioned in the petition and told that N30,000 was paid into his account by the complainant.
“Kayode told us that he owned the account but his boss (the defendant) asked for the account details, add that as soon as money was paid into the account, he withdrew it and gave it to his boss,” he said.
The witness testified that Kayode led the EFCC team to the defendant’s house and the defendant was taken to an EFCC office where he made a statement in the presence of his legal counsel.
“The defendant explained that he knew the complainant through her daughter, Kuburat, who was his friend but had travelled out.
“He says he is a prophet and had been praying for the complainant’s daughter before she relocated and that she prayed for the complainant when she found it difficult to sell a land.
“He said that the complainant also paid N200,000 to his account to show gratitude after the land was sold,’’ he testified.
The witness added that the defendant told the team that the complainant called him to pray for her first son who was sick but he introduced her to some people who could handle the situation in Ondo Town.
“He said that he gave the complainant the people’s names as Awoyemi Fakunle and Mose Alade,”
The witness said that the complainant was received by Fakunle on arrival at Ondo and was taken to a shrine where she was told that all her problems would be solved.
He added that the duo promised to make the complainant wealthy.
The witness said he led the five-man team to Ondo after the defendant had written a statement.
He told the court that EFCC wrote a letter to that effect to the Commissioner of Police, Ondo State Command.
“Upon our arrival at area commander’s office, we did necessary documentation and we were given two policemen to assist us.
“The defendant took us to the shrine but we did not meet anyone in the old mud building. I took pictures of the shine.
“The defendant also took us to some of the addresses we found on Fakunle’s bank details, but we were told they were no longer living there,” he testified.
The witness told the court that investigations revealed that the complainant’s nude pictures were taken at the shrine without her knowledge as she was bathing with the soap they gave her.
He said that the complainant was surrounded by 20 men chanting incantation and she was given an iron box to keep at a corner of her room in Lagos.
“She said that, during the period, two accounts were given to her in Fakunle and Alade’s names and she paid in trenches, a total of N36 million into the two accounts.
“In the course of our investigation, we discovered that Fakunle transferred N1 million to the defendant’s FCMB account on Aug. 3, 2016, and another N850,000 was paid into his account on Sept. 2, 2016.
“This money was transferred immediately after the complainant paid into Fakunle’s account.
“We confronted the defendant on this revelation and he told us that he sold a car to Fakunle in the sum of N2.3 million that he was able to pay N1.8 million out of it.
“We asked the defendant to show us the evidence of purchase of the car to Fakunle which he could not give,” he said.
The witness further said that the EFCC team was able to recover N1.5 million draft from the defendant.
The EFCC alleges that the defendant with six others at large fraudulently obtained N36 million from the octogenarian
The alleged offences contravene Section 1(1)(a) and 1(3) of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences, 2006, and Sections 287 (1) (2) and 285 (1) of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2011.
Justice Mojisola Dada adjourned the case until Nov.25 for continuation of trial.
