2 Oyo civil servants arraigned for alleged fraud

One Mr Oluwaseun Adegoke and another Ojo David were arraigned before separate magistrate courts sitting in Ibadan, on Wednesday, on allegations of receiving multiple salaries from the Oyo State government, using different names and account numbers.

Adegoke, who appeared before Chief Magistrate of Court two, A. F. Richards, was arraigned on eight-count charge that included using six different names to receive monthly allowances of corps members and another name of a dead civil servant to receive salary.

Ojo, however, was arraigned before Chief Magistrate of Court three, Abdulateef Adebisi, on a seven-count charge to include allegedly using the name of a non existing officer to receive salary from the state civil service.

Ojo, who had been arrested since May 23, 2016, was charged for fraudulently receiving, on a monthly basis, a total sum of over Four million naira with fictitious names and from different banks across the state.

The two arraigned persons are part of 16,532 government employees identified in the recent verification exercise of the Oyo State government where irregularities ranging from employees and pensioners getting multiple salaries, multiple salaries paid into single account, bank accounts with no Bank Verification Number (BVN), employees that have passed retirement age and employees with mismatched names were discovered.

The two suspects however, pleaded not guilty to the offence.

Counsel to the suspects, Mr Akeem Agbaje, had subsequently applied for bail which the prosecuting counsel, Mr Adetunji Gbadegesin, did not oppose.

Adegoke was granted bail in the sum of N2 million with two sureties in like sum, one of which must be a civil servant on grade level 14.

Ojo was granted bail in the sum of N10 million with three sureties in like sum, one of which must be a civil servant on grade level 15, another, a resident of Ibadan with landed property worth N10 million and the third, a relative of the suspects who is gainfully employed.

Defence counsel, Agbaje, however, frowned at what he described as strict bail conditions and tactics to retain the suspects in prison.

Prosecuting counsel, Mr Adetunji Gbadegesin, noted that the bail conditions may be stringent so that the suspects would not jump bail.

He added that the two suspects brought to the court were the ones arrested by the state government as of now, while expressing optimism that others found fraudulent would be brought to book.

The cases were adjourned till July 22 and 25, 2016.