Landlords at Fagbile Estate, Isheri Oshun area of Lagos, have been thrown into confusion after they paid huge sums of money to individuals who came as workers of Lagos State Safety Commission to help them to procure their house documents.
P.M.EXPRESS reports that all the documents they procured for their houses were discovered to be fake because they paid to the wrong hands who claimed to be representatives of the Commission.
Two suspects, Oludare Oluware, 40 and Alhaji Lateef Abegunde, 60, have been arrested and charged for the alleged fraud by issuing permit paper to the house owners after extorting them without the consent of the authority.
According to the Police, the suspects were dismissed over an undisclosed misconduct by the Lagos State Safety Commission but that did not deter them as they continued their work with their ID cards and jackets vests.
Trouble started after the Landlords, who they gave the documents, went to verify and eventually discovered that they were fake and there was no record of payments and authorized signatures as genuine documents.
The matter was reported to the Police at Isheri Oshun Division. The suspects were arrested and detained at the station for interrogation over their alleged conduct.
During interrogation, they admitted that they were dismissed but they continued working because they had no job to do. And they collected the money from the victims to facilitate the documents but it did not work out as they had planned.
The Police found them culpable and charged them before the Ejigbo Magistrate Court for conspiracy, conduct likely to cause breach of public peace, forgery and stealing under the Criminal Laws of the State.
The charges read:
That you, Oludare Oluwale ‘M’ and Alhaji Lateef Abegunde ‘M’ on 6/10/2024 at Amida Street, Fagbile, Isheri Oshun, Lagos, in the Lagos State Magisterial district did, conduct yourselves in a manner likely to cause breach by issuing permit paper to house owners after extorting them without the consent of the authority of Lagos State Safety Commission, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 168(d) law of Lagos State Nigeria 2015.”
COUNT II:That you, Oludare Oluwale ‘M’ and Alhaji Lateef Abegunde ‘M’ at the same period, place and time at the aforementioned magisterial district, did conspire together to commit felony to wit stealing against the authority of Lagos State Safety Commission, and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 411 law of Lagos State Nigeria.”
COUNT III:That you, Oludare Oluwale ‘M’ at the same date, plate and time at the aforementioned magisterial district, did impersonate Lagos State Safety Commission by using the Identity card and reflective jacket of the office after you have been disengaged by the authority of the Lagos State Safety Commission to collect money and issue fake document to the house owner on the site, and thereby committed an offence contrary and punishable under Section 77 (b) law of Lagos State Nigeria 2015.”
However, they pleaded not guilty.
The prosecutor, Inspector Simeon Njue, then asked the Court to give a date for hearing since they pleaded not guilty to enable the Police to prove that they actually committed the alleged offence.
The Presiding Magistrate, Mrs. A.K. Dosumu-Uthman, granted them bail in the sum of N300,000 with two sureties in like sum, who must show evidence of means of livelihood and tax payment while addresses will be verified by the Court.
The matter was adjourned for mention while the defendants were remanded in custody at the correctional center at Kirikiri town, Lagos, pending when they will perfect their bail conditions.