In a significant legal development, a businessman named Lanre Smith, accused of a N10 million fraud, has been granted bail amounting to N30 million by the Federal High Court in Lagos. This decision comes after a motion presented by the defendant’s lawyer, Akin Apara, who argued for the defendant’s presumption of innocence until proven otherwise. Justice Ibrahim Kala, presiding over the case, accepted the defense’s plea, imposing conditions such as two sureties in like sum, with one being a Grade Level 14 government official and the other a landed property owner within the court’s jurisdiction. The court further mandated the submission of the defendant’s passport to the deputy chief registrar.
As the trial commenced, the prosecution called its first witness, Stephen Ogunlola, an operative of the Interpol Section of Force CID Annex, Alagbon. Ogunlola revealed that the investigation centered around a $26,000 foreign transaction between the defendant and the nominal complainant, who were former teammates in the defunct Island Football Club. The transaction’s bone of contention emerged as the US authorities investigated the nominal complainant’s account, raising questions.
During cross-examination, Akin Apara introduced a statement made by Ogunlola in a related case, indicating that the accused in that matter had repaid the money, suggesting a lack of wrongdoing by Lanre Smith. The witness clarified that Smith had met the nominal complainant in a football club in Lekki, agreeing to source $40,000 or more, with clear instructions not to pay the dollar equivalent until the funds were delivered.
