Two persons arraigned for N18.3m theft

Two persons were on Wednesday arraigned before
the Oyo State Magistrate's Court in Iyaganku, Ibadan
for two counts of conspiracy and stealing of money
belonging to Obat Oil and Petroleum.
The accused persons, Mr. Akinolu Quadri and Toyese
Badmus, were said to have mismanaged
N18,361,500 being the rent collected on the
company's property at Gbagi market, Ibadan
between October 2009 and May 2012.
The complainant, the Olugbo of Ugboland in Ilaje
Local Government area of Ondo State, Oba Obateru
Akinruntan, (owner of Obat Oil and Petroleum),
alleged that the duo conspired to defraud him and
his company.
The monarch, in case number MI/1048/2012, alleged
that Quadri, who is the Managing Consultant of Roots
Property, Ibadan, was appointed as a consultant to
manage the company's estate through a letter dated
October 2, 2009.
Kunle Ogunsanya, who represented the monarch,
said, "The company wrote the consultant a letter
dated October 14, 2009, directing him to pay the
rent collected on all the shops into Equitorial Trust
Bank account, Gbagi, Ibadan. Unknown to us the
consultant had been mismanaging the rent collected
with the connivance of Badmus, the Chairman of
tenants association of the said property.
"The fraud was detected in May this year when the
company chairman (the monarch) directed me to
collect the bank's statement to know the total rent
collected."
He said it was discovered that there was fraud on the
rent.
According to him, although N14m was collected
between October 2009 and December 2011, only
N2.3m was deposited in the account.
Obisanya said when investigated, Badmus (the
second accused person) claimed that the consultant
instructed him to collect rent from the tenants with
an instruction that he should lodge 60per cent of the
rent to the bank (with the remaining 40per cent paid
to Quadri).
The accused persons, however, asked the court to
restrain Obateru from inviting the media to cover the
proceedings on the grounds that they were
intimidated by their presence.