Olajide Kareem, also known as Seun Egbegbe, a producer for Nollywood, was found guilty of fraud by the Federal High Court in Lagos and was sentenced to seven years in jail with hard labour. However, after serving his sentence, he was released.
Rotimi Oladokun, a spokesman for the Lagos State Command of the Nigerian Correctional Services, announced the filmmaker’s release from custody on Wednesday.
The 45-year-old was charged by the police on February 10, 2017, following allegations that he defrauded no less than 40 Bureau De Change agents in various areas of Lagos between 2015 and 2017, receiving N39 million, $90,000, and £12,550 under false pretences.
The ex-convict and another person, Oyekan Ayomide, were charged with 36 counts of alleged advance fee fraud before Justice Oluremi Oguntoyinbo.
The charge sheet was changed twice, leading to an increase in the number of counts to 40 and the addition of three more defendants (Lawal Kareem, Olalekan Yusuf, and Muyideen Shoyombo), bringing the total number of defendants to five.
The first defendant, Egbegebe, pleaded not guilty to the remaining 38 counts while the other five defendants entered not-guilty pleas to the first and second counts.
Justice Oguntoyinbo ruled that 39 of the 40 counts were null and void since there were no witnesses to support the allegations.
The judge further ruled that all the money taken from Egbegbe as evidence must be restored to him since the police tampered with the money taken from the accused.
The judge said, “Having considered the entirety of the circumstances and taken judicial notice of the allocutus, I hereby sentence the first defendant (Egbegbe) to imprisonment for a term of seven years with hard labour only in respect of count 19 of the amended charge.
“The term is to begin from the very first date the first defendant was detained in police custody and/or remanded in prison, whichever comes first. I so hold.
“Most importantly, the prosecution witnesses’ contradictory testimonies have failed to satisfy the exact various sums of money contained in the majority of the unviable and unsupported counts of charges filed against the first defendant. I so hold.
“From the avalanche of evidence before this honourable court, it is crystal clear the Nigeria police tampered with the various sums of money collected from the first and second defendants.
“The Nigeria Police Force, Lagos State, State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Panti, Yaba, and the entire Lagos Police Command and sadly its legal department have failed in the discharge of these solemn responsibilities to present the actual exhibits before this honourable court. I so hold.
“These law enforcement agencies should not be seen to play hanky-panky with crucial items necessary for the determination of issues of this ilk.”
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