Son-in-Law Narrates How Father-in-law Defraud Him of Cars & Lands
A Son-in-Law named Mr Gafar Ademolake has given evidence to a Lagos State Special Offences Court detailing how his 72-year-old Father-in-Law named Muritala Adebayo, also known as Oloriebi of Ajah, allegedly defrauded him of three cars and millions of naira that he paid to him and his representatives.
Ademolake, who was led in evidence by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) counsel, Mr Babangida Isah, told the court presided over by Justice Mojisola Dada that Adebayo was his father-in-law whom he had known for about eleven years.
The witness said that the defendant asked him to use the proceeds from his business to purchase land from him, and he began by paying his father-in-law sums of N300,000 and N400,000 in several tranches before he demanded N1 million, which he paid.
He said: “The defendant is my wife’s father, and I met him around eleven years ago. He said I should use the gains from my business to get land from him. I started with a sum of N300,000, N400,000 in several tranches, and it got to a time when he said I should give him N1 million, which I did.
“He also gave me the account number of his assistant, Mr Goddy, on this particular day, and I told him I could only do a little transfer. I took N450,0000 to Baba’s office that day, and I later asked him if he had other landed property.”
The witness further testified that the defendant told him that he had land around Ayegbami and Eleko in Lagos and promised to give him eighteen plots from there. Ademolake paid N3.5 million for the first three plots of land in Ogombo, Ajah, and Adebayo wrote receipts for the eighteen plots of land.
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Ademolake discovered that the landed property had been taken over by another estate developer. The witness complained to Adebayo, who asked him to call Mr Goddy, who promised to give him another landed property and also agreed to pay him N500,000 for seven months. Ademolake paid N4.5 million before he stopped further payments. He also took Adebayo to several places for the recovery of the 18 plots of land but to no avail.
When the witness was cross-examined by the defence counsel Mr Bamidele Ogundele on documents to authenticate his testimony as there are no documents or receipts tendered before the court by EFCC, the witness said he had all the receipts of all payments made by him.
“I have all my documents and receipts including receipts of the three cars here in my bag,” the witness affirmed.
The prosecution counsel attempted to tender the available receipts through the witness during cross-examination, but the court promptly declined.
The EFCC had on January 24 arraigned the defendant on a three-count charge of obtaining money by false pretext. Adebayo pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The commission had alleged that the defendant, with an intent to defraud, obtained the sum of N4.5 million from Ademolake by falsely informing him that the payment was for three plots of land at Ogombo, Ajah, in Lagos, a presentation he knew to be false.
The prosecutor submitted that the defendant also collected the sum of N5.5 million from the complainant as part of the payment for 18 plots of land in Ayogbemi Village in Ibeju-Lekki, which he knew to be false.
He further alleged that the defendant collected two Toyota Camry 2005 Model cars and one Honda Accord 2006 Model, valued at N9 million from the complainant that the payment was for the balance of the 18 plots of land in Ibeju, a presentation he knew to be false.
According to the prosecutor, the alleged offences contravene Section 1(3) of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Fraud-Related Offences Act, 2006.
Justice Mojisola Dada adjourned the case until May 14 for the continuation of the trial.
