The Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has arraigned a 56-year-old car dealer, Rasaq Abolaji Mumini and Lawal Olawande Mariam for selling a property forfeited to the Federal Government without due authorization and obtaining money under false pretence.

The antigraft agency in a Tuesday statement said the suspects were dragged on Monday, before Justice Kamorudeen Olawoyin of the Oyo State High Court sitting in Ogbomosho, Oyo State on two-count charge for selling a four-bedroom apartment, under attachment by the EFCC without lawful authorization. The property is situated at Dubere in Ogbomosho, Surulere Local Government Area of Oyo State.

Count one of the charge reads:
“That you, Rasaq Abolaji, Lawal Olawande Mariam and others still at large sometime in December 2022, at Ogbomosho, Oyo State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, without due authorization sold a Four Bedroom Apartment situate at Dubere Area of Surulere Local Government Area of Oyo State to Mrs Felicia Adeyemi at the sum of N13,500,000.00 (Thirteen Million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira Only) a property that was subject of attachment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 32 (1) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act 2004”.

The Commission had marked the apartment after it discovered that it was acquired with proceeds of unlawful activity and during investigation, it was revealed that the second defendant (Lawal Olawande Mariam), wife of the owner of the property, Mr. Adebayo Abiodun, contacted the first defantant through a friend, to help her clean off the EFCC inscription on the property.

Further investigations also revealed that Mumini obtained the sum of N3,050,000 (Three Million, Fifty ThousandNaira Only) from Mrs. Mariam under a false pretence that the money was demanded by the operatives of the EFCC in order to clean the Commission’s inscription, “KEEP OFF EFCC UNDER INVESTIGATION”, on the four-bedroom apartment.

When the charges were read to the defendants, they both pleaded not guilty, thereby setting the stage for a trial.

Consequently, Justice Olawoyin ordered the remand of the defendants in the custody of the EFCC and adjourned till Monday, February 12, for hearing of their bail applications.