Magistrate bags five years over N22million fraud

Segun Showunmi in Ibadan

A former Deputy Chief Registrar of the Oyo State High Court, Mutiat Omobola Adio has been  sentenced to five years imprisonment by after she was found guilty of a one-count charge of stealing in a case preferred against her by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), Ibadan zonal office.

Penpushing reports that the convict, who was also a Chief Magistrate in the State, was accused of stealing a sum of N22,375,913 from Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, an offence that runs contrary to section 390(11) of criminal Code, Cap.38, Law of Oyo State.

The convict had earlier on May 18, 2018, sentenced to seven years imprisonment for obtaining under false pretence a sum of N9.2 million from one Abiodun Olonade, a Nigerian resident in Ireland, and the sentence  was without an option of fine.

Penpushing further reports that, the registrar  was in the latest criminal charge said to have abused her office as the Secretary of a Cooperative Society of the Oyo State Judicial Officers by inflating the total sum approved for loan facilities granted her members by the GTBank, and converting the difference to personal use.

The convict was said to be the facilitator of the loan which totaled about N90m,but pleaded not guilty to the offence when she was first arraigned on April 25, 2017, necessitating the commencement of her trial.

Penpushing also reports that, the prosecution, led by Dr. Ben Ubi, called five witnesses, while she called two, and after listening to arguments from the parties, Justice Muniru Olagunju declared her guilty of the offence and sentenced her to five years in prison without an option of fine, and  was also ordered to pay back the sum of 20,935,000 to the GTBank, to the victim of her crime.