A civil servant has been arrested for alledgedly defrauding 23 church members seeking employment.
Fifty-three year old Oyawoye R. Olajumoke Fafemi was arraigned on Monday, 26 September by the Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic And Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, before Justice Mohammed Sani of the Federal High Court, sitting in Ilorin.
TheFact Daily reports that Fafemi, a staff of Kwara State Ministry of Finance, was accused of collecting various sums of money from 23 members of the Christ Apostolic Church in Offa, Kwara State, under the guise of helping them secure employment in the Kwara State Civil Service Commission and Federal Government Parastatals.
Investigations revealed that Fafemi issued employment letters to her victims, which stated that they had been employed by Kwara State Government and Federal Government, with their grades and salaries stated. However, those letters were later discovered to be fake.
According to one of the charges, Fafemi, between the month of April and September 2019, in Ilorin, fraudulently obtained the gross sum of N2,000,000.00 (Two Million Naira Only) from one Moronfoye Solomon Daramola under the pretence of securing government employment for his church members.
She thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1 (1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act.
Fafemi, between the months of May and August 2019, further fraudulently obtained the sum of N700,000.00 (Seven Hundred Thousand Naira Only) from one Adeoti Kamoru under the pretence of securing a visa for Hajj Pilgrimage, which she knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section (1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act.
Fafemi pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to her, following which, prosecuting counsel, Andrew Akoja, urged the court to give a trial date to enable the prosecution prove its case.
Defence counsel, A.T Yusuf, however, prayed the court to grant his client bail, pending the hearing and determination of the case.
Justice Sani granted Fafemi bail in the sum of N2 million and two sureties in like sum. The defendant was ordered to deposit two of her passport photographs with the court.
The judge adjourned the matter to November 17, 2022 for commencement of trial.
