11million Fraud: Businessman arraigned for attempting to sell 'fake' maize and soybeans

The Ibadan zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday October 9, 2018 arraigned one Abdulkadir Ibrahim before Justice A. S. Oyinloye of the High Court of Kwara State, sitting in Ilorin, on an eight-count charge of conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, stealing and obtaining money under false pretence.

Abdulkadir and one Bakare Dauda (now at large), sometime in January 2017 allegedly approached the complainant (name withheld) and convinced him to invest the sum of 11,870,000 (Eleven Million, Eight Hundred and Seventy Thousand Naira) only into a business of buying and reselling of maize and soybeans. According to the complainant, after payment was made to the defendant, all efforts made to get either the product or the money back proved abortive.

The defendant pleaded not guilty to the counts. In view of his plea, counsel to the defendant, Olumide Abifarin informed the court of a Motion dated and filed on 8th October, 2018 praying the court for the bail of the defendant.

However, prosecution counsel, Sanusi Galadanchi informed the court that his office was served late yesterday and needed time to respond. He thereafter applied that the defendant be remanded in prison custody pending bail. Justice Oyinloye however, adjourned the case to 17, 18 October, 2018 for hearing of bail application and possibly commencement of trial. Meanwhile, the defendant shall be remanded in prison custody pending the hearing of his bail application.

One of the Count Charge reads: "That you, Mallam Abdulkadir Ibrahim, on or about the 24th of January 2017 at Ilorin within the Judicial Division of this honourable court with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of Four Million, Four Hundred and Eighty Thousand Naira (N4,480,000.00) only from Mr. Ezekiel Ola Babatunde through Mallam Bakare Dauda by falsely pretending that it was further part payment of the cost price of 386 bags of one hundred kilograms of maize and 420 bags of one hundred kilograms of soybeans which you purported to have the capacity to supply him and which representations you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence".