By Oduwaiye Fela
For allegedly defrauding 109 accommodation seekers of N14million, a 34-year-old landlady, Taibat Aruna, was on Friday 18th October, 2013 in Lagos charged before an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court.
The accused, a resident of Esa Quarters, Ojo, on Lagos-Badagry Expressway, is standing trial on a 30-count charge bordering on conspiracy, fraud and stealing. The prosecutor, Insp. Edet Okoi said the accused with others still at large committed the offences sometime between June 5 and August 8 at Ojo. According to him, Aruna obtained the money from the accommodation seekers on the pretext of letting out self-contained apartments located at Ojo to them.
The woman did not provide the accommodation as promised and also failed to refund the upfront rent she collected, he said. Okoi said the offences contravened Sections 285, 312 (1), (3) and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
The accused entered a plea of not
guilty. The Magistrate, Mrs Margaret Dan-Oni, granted Aruna bail in the sum of N2 million with two sureties in like sum. “One of the sureties must be a religious leader, while the other must be gainfully employed and resident within the court’s jurisdiction. “They must also show evidence of three years tax payment.’’ The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the accused, on conviction, may be sentenced to a 15-year jail term. The magistrate adjourned the case till 11 November for mention.
News-Portal Nigeria © 2013
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