sentenced two friends, Babatunde Ogunjobi and Oluwatoyin
Yusuf, to 27 years imprisonment for stealing a mobile phone
belonging to Governor Rauf Aregbesola.
The convicts were said to have conspired together to steal
Aregbesola's phone at the Government Technical College,
Osogbo, on 27 November 2010, during his inauguration as
governor of the state.
The convicts were said to have used the phone to dupe
unsuspecting friends of the governor, including the traditional
ruler of Ijesaland, Oba Gabriel Adekunle Aromolaran, of
various sums of money.
It would be recalled that one Kelvin Igahodowa and one other
had earlier been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for the
same offence on three-count charge of stealing and fraud.
Ogunjobi and Yusuf had since 2011 been standing trial on the
matter after their arrest and subsequent detention by the
police.
Delivering judgment, Justice Oyejide Falola said the convicts
were guilty of the five counts charge of conspiracy, fraud,
impersonation, obtaining property under false pretence and
stealing levelled against them and thereby ordered them to
serve a 27-year jail
term.
Justice Falola averred that the court established that the
convicts had used Governor Aregbesola's Sony Erricson
mobile phone to defraud unsuspecting members of the public
including the Owa Obokun of Ijesha land, Oba Gabriel Adekunle Aromolaran.
He said the offences committed by the convicts were contrary
to and punishable under sections 8 (C), 1 (3), (1c) and 1(3) of
the advance fee fraud and other related offences Act, 2006.
He added that the offences were also contrary to and
punishable under sections 390 and 484 of the criminal code,
Cap.34 Laws of Osun State 2002.
The prosecution team from the state Ministry of Justice led by
Mr. Dapo Adeniji, tendered many exhibits against the
convicts.
Counsel to the convicts, Mr. Akin Ladipo, pleaded with the
court to temper justice with mercy but the court refused.
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