Adejimi Adepoju, a twenty-one-year-old, stood before a Magistrates’ Court in Ile-Ife, Osun State, on Thursday, facing allegations of utilizing a fake money transfer to purchase a mobile phone. The defendant purportedly defrauded a phone seller on April 3 at New Market, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, by acquiring a mobile phone and completing the transaction with counterfeit funds.
During the court session, the prosecutor, Sunday Osanyintuyi, asserted that the defendant procured a mobile phone valued at N180,000 and utilized a fake money transfer as payment. Osanyintuyi cited Section 157 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Osun, 2002, stating that the defendant’s actions constituted an offence punishable under the law.
Adepoju, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge brought against him by the police. His defence counsel, Samuel Obi, subsequently petitioned for bail, assuring the court of the defendant’s reliability and offering sureties to vouch for him.
Upon deliberation, the presiding magistrate, Taofeek Badmus, granted the defendant bail in the sum of N500,000, requiring two sureties to stand as guarantors in similar amounts. Badmus stipulated that the sureties must provide an affidavit affirming their financial standing and residency within the court’s jurisdiction, with one being a blood relation of the defendant.
The case was adjourned until May 16 for further proceedings.
