Osho Aluko-Kola was charged with nine counts of conspiracy and theft involving N206,502,490.02 by Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offenses Court in Ikeja, Lagos, on Wednesday. He was found guilty and given a nine-year prison sentence.
On July 4, 2020, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCCLagos )’s Zonal Command brought Aluko-Kola and six other businesses—Centurion Registrars Limited, United Securities Limited, Evolution Construction Engineering Design Limited, Cities & Towers Logistics Limited, Continental Exim Nigeria Limited, and Diffusion Impex Limited—to court.
That between 2015 and 2019 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this honorable court, you, Osho Aluko-Kola, Alake Olatokunbo (now at large), Centurion Registrars Limited, United Securities Limited, Evolution Construction & Engineering Design Limited, Cities & Towers Logistics Limited, Continental Exim Nigeria Limited, and Diffusion Impex Limited conspired to commit felony, namely: stealing the sum of N206,502,490.02 (Two Hund
On the counts, he entered a “not guilty” plea.
Franklin Ofoma, the prosecuting attorney, called four witnesses during the trial, including Daniel Chukwudozie, 65, the victim of the fraud whose dividend warrant for 80 million shares of the now-defunct Diamond Bank, obtained in 2006 and held by Centurion Registrars Limited, was misappropriated by a forger. The fourth witness for the prosecution was a Deputy Director and Head of the Enforcement Department of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), who described how the SEC’s investigation led to the indictment of the Registrars allegedly implicated in the fraud.
Additionally, the prosecution submitted a number of documents to support its case against the defendants.
The defendants made the decision to file a no-case-case submission after the prosecution ended its case on June 23, 2021. This was rejected by the court on January 28, 2022, and the defense was then required to begin its case.
The defendant stood up to speak for himself.
In his ruling, Justice Dada stated that “all the defendants are guilty as charged on count one” since the prosecution had successfully proven the charges against the defendants.
The trial court found the first, second, and fifth defendants guilty as charged on charges two to five, which involved theft involving a total of N38,067,336.68.
They were told to give the victim back the specified amount.
The trial court found that the second defendant was responsible for charges six to eight, which involved the sum of N168,235,152.34, while count nine was dismissed because it was a duplication of count eight.
The defendant was given a concurrent seven-year prison term for theft and a two-year sentence for conspiracy by the judge.
The corporations must return to the victim the funds used in the fraud, according to Justice Dada’s judgment.
The first defendant’s bank account balance of N33 million was ordered forfeited to the fraud victim.
The court granted the 65-year-old Aluko a fine of N10 million instead of sending him to prison after an ardent defense plea for mercy.
