Two civil servants in Oyo State, Oluwaseun Adegoke and Ojo Olarewaju, were on Wednesday arraigned for allegedly collecting multiple salaries to the tune of N60,990,700. Adegoke and Olarewaju were arraigned before Chief Magistrate A.F. Richard and Chief Magistrate Abdullateef Adebisi respectively at the Iyaganku Magistrates’ Court in Ibadan.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the State Solicitor General, Mr Adetunji Gbadegesin, is prosecuting Adegoke and Olarewaju on an eight-count charge and seven-count charge respectively.
Gbadegesin told the court that Adegoke fraudulently received salaries totalling N11,685,084 between April and November 2015 using fictitious names.
He said that Adegoke received the salaries using the names of retired and dead civil servant as well as some corps members with different account numbers in Skye Bank.
The Solicitor-General said that Adegoke illegally and fraudulently collected the salaries, adding that the offences contravened section 390 (5) of the Criminal Code Cap 38 Vol. II Laws of Oyo State, 2000.
Adegoke, however, pleaded not guilty and his counsel, Mr Akeem Ajagbe, urged the court to grant his client bail in the most liberal terms.
Chief Magistrate Richard granted Adegoke bail in the sum of N2million with two sureties in like sum.
He said that one of the sureties must be a civil servant not below Grade Level 14 while the second should have landed property.
Richard adjourned the case till July 22 for hearing.
In the case involving Olarewaju, the Oyo State Solicitor-General told Chief Magistrate Abdullateef Adebisi that the defendant illegally received salaries from the Oyo State Government to the tune of N49,304,086 between January 2014 and April 2016.
Gbadegesin said that Olarewaju received the salaries using fictitious name with different account numbers with First Bank, WEMA Bank and Stanbic Bank.
He said that the offences contravened Section 390 (5) of the Criminal Code Cap 38 Vol.II Laws of Oyo of Nigeria, 2000.
The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The defendant’s counsel, Ajagbe, urged the court to grant his client bail in the most liberal terms.
The Solicitor-General, however, did not oppose the bail application but urged the court to make the conditions stringent. The defendant was granted bail in the sum of N10million with three sureties in like sum.
Adebisi said that one of the sureties should be a civil servant not below Grade Level 15.
He also said the second surety should be a property owner with a Certificate of Occupancy while the third must be a blood relative of the defendant.
The case was adjourned till July 25 for hearing. (NAN)
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