Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, has set January 10, 2024, as the commencement date for the trial of a couple, Oriyomi Idowu and Ruth Idowu, News About Nigeria reports.
The Lagos Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had arraigned the couple on November 28, 2023, on 20 counts related to obtaining money by false pretense, money laundering, stealing, retention of stolen property, and forgery, involving a total sum of N2.7 billion.
The charges also included allegations against companies owned by Ruth Idowu, namely Food Commodity Processing Enterprise, Bonway Food Processing Company Limited, Samee Idowu Company Limited, and Farmex Integrated Companies Limited.
One of the counts read, “Ruth Sameeha Idowu, aka Loiry Ventures, Oriyomi Kabeer Idowu, aka Yocli Ventures, Food Commodity Processing Enterprise, Bonway Food Processing Company Limited, Samee Idowu Company Limited, Farmex Integrated Companies Limited, sometime in 2023 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this court, converted the sum of N10m to purchase a GLK Benz, purchase sum derived from converting the sum of N500m belonging to Creditpro Business Support Services with the aim of disguising the illegal origin of the funds.”
During the arraignment, both defendants pleaded ‘not guilty’ to the charges, prompting the court to adjourn the case to December 15, 2023, for the hearing of their bail applications.
On December 15, James Alara, counsel for Ruth Idowu, withdrew an earlier bail motion and submitted a new one, citing the need to include medical reports on the health status of the first defendant.
Bilikisu Buhari, the EFCC’s counsel, requested time to authenticate the medical reports attached to the new bail application.
The court granted bail to Oriyomi Idowu in the sum of N250 million with two sureties in like sum.
The bail hearing for Ruth Idowu has been adjourned until December 20, 2023. The trial is scheduled to take place on January 10 and February 2, 2024.
