A family of 4 sentenced to 3yrs for conspiracy & forgery of papers


Four brothers of the same parents were yesterday, sentenced to three years jail term by a Lagos State Magistrate Court sitting in Ikeja for conspiracy and forgery.
Those sentenced after they were found guilty of the offence preferred against them were: Abayomi Oluwa, 64, Ismaila Oluwa, 69, Tajudeen Oluwa, 60 and Musa Oluwa, 58.

The trial Magistrate, Mr A. A Adesanya sentenced them to 18 months imprisonment for forgery and eight months for conspiracy without given the accused an option of fine two years after they were arraigned.

The court held in its judgment: “By the evidences and facts provided before the court, the accused were not truthful in their evidences and testimonies, they are found guilty of the offences.” Magistrate Adesanya held: “You are hereby sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for forgery and eight months jail term for conspiracy each without an option of fine, the sentenced should run concurrently,” he said.

The accused, were first arraigned in June 30, 2014 on charges bordering on conspiracy and forgery. Specifically, they were accused of conspiracy to forged the official stamp of the High Court of Lagos State and signature of principal registrar of the court.

At that time, they all pleaded not guilty and were then granted bail each in the sum of N100,000 with two sureties each and had been appearing in court for trial ever since. During the arraignment, the prosecutor, Insp. George Nwosu had told the court that the accused committed the offences March 5, 2013 at High Court of Lagos State.

“The accused forged the stamp and signature of the court. ” he said. Nwosu said that the accused persons have filed a suit at the Lagos High Court against the complainant, one Oluwa of Lagos and Apapa, Chief Mukaila Oluwa to step down from the throne. “The accused had dragged the complainant to court to vacant from the throne of Oba, claiming that the throne does not belong to him. “The court in its ruling ordered the accused to maintain statuo quo pending the determination of the case.

“But the accused went ahead to forge the stamp of the court and also lifted the signature of the principal registrar from the ruling and smuggled it into a public notice. “They made the publication in punch newspaper that the court had ruled that the Oba (complainant) ceased to be the Oluwa of Lagos and Apapa.

“They also pasted some of the notice round the palace,” he said. The prosecutor said that the offences contravened section 363(2)(b) and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.