Lagos businessman Abiodun Bolarinwa appeals judgment, seeks fair hearing
By Trek Africa Newspaper
In it’s attempt to get justice, convicted businessman, Abiodun Bolarinwa, has approached an appellate court to upturn his conviction.
Bolarinwa in a five grounds appeal, urged the court to help determine if the lower court accord him fair hearing.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, following the conviction of Abiodun by Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of a Lagos Special Offences Court, sitting took possession of a property on 1A, Joke Ayo Street, Riverside Estate, Alagbado, Lagos.
The anti graft agency also take possession of other assets in the property, including a Range Rover Sport Utility Vehicle, SUV, a black BMW car, a black Toyota Land cruiser car, and a white Toyota Hilux and handed the same property over to the victim, Mr. Bamidele Safiriyu Olusegun.
Justice Taiwo had on July 8 2022 convicted and sentenced Abiodun to seven years imprisonment and ordered him to forfeit all the proceeds of the crime.
Reacting to the taken of possession without due procedure, Mrs Adetona Funke Adebowale, an octogenarian and mother of Bolarinwa, accused the EFCC, of forcefully taken possession of her family house jointly owned with her husband.
She said the house in question was never known to the judgement convicted her son.
According to Mrs. Adebowale, EFCC takes laws to it’s hands by taken over her property, at a time when lawyer to her son had filed a stay of execution of the judgement.
EFCC Lagos Zonal Commander, Ahmed Ghali, while handing over the keys to the property and vehicles at the EFCC’s Lagos Command, described the development as a milestone in the fight against corruption. Ghali said Abiodun had posed as an Army General to defraud Olusegun of the sum of N266,500,000.
Describing her experience with the EFCC officials, Mrs Adebowale said she is still traumatised from the experience, explaining that the anti-graft agents forced their way into the premises like armed robbers.
Mrs Adebowale further noted that the EFCC officials left with her money, running into over N12million, gold necklaces, wristwatches and other expensive jewelries that worth several millions of naira.
