EFCC arraigns impeached Ogun Speaker, two others for alleged N2.5bn fraud

By Abiodun Taiwo

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday arraigned the impeached Speaker of the Ogun state House of Assembly, Olakunle Oluomo.

Also arraigned were two other principal career officers of the Assembly, Dayo Samuel and Adeyemo Adedeji.

The trio were arraigned before a Federal High Court sitting in Oke Mosan, Abeokuta, the state capital for alleged N2.5 billion fraud.

Oluomo allegedly committed the offence in 2022 while he was the Speaker of the Assembly.

The ex Speaker was impeached with 18 votes of the 26-member Assembly for what the members considered his high handedness, gross misconduct, arrogance, poor leadership style, lack of focus and transparency and pitching members against one another.

However, the suspects could not take their pleas because counsel to the EFCC could not make it to the court on Monday.

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The presiding judge, Judge, O.O Okeke adjourned the case to 29th February and 1st of March.

Addressing journalists shortly after the case was adjourned, Oluomo vowed to fight on, saying that he had instituted a legal battle against members of the assembly.

There was however, a mild drama shortly before the men were docked when two overzealous officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) attempted barring journalists from covering the trial.

Our correspondent reports that as soon as the case was mentioned, the NSCDC officers ordered him and other journalists to leave the courtroom, purportedly on the orders of the court Registrar.

The Registrar however denied giving such orders when our correspondent accosted him and invited one of the NSCDC officers for questioning.

But the officers, who had removed his name tag, denied ordering the journalists out of the court room, saying he only asked the newsmen to get the Registrar’s approval before they could cover the proceeding.