Court remands alleged money doubler over $100k, N1.05m fraud

A Federal High sitting in Lagos on Friday remanded one Olalekan Mutholib, accused of a money-doubling scam through diabolical means, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Justice Nicholas Oweibo made the order following Mitholib’s “not guilty” plea to a five-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence.
According to the charge marked FHC/L/23c/2022, the defendant and one Nurudeen Gbolagade Rasheed at large, sometime in 2021 in Lagos, and with intent to defraud allegedly knowingly conspired with others at large, to obtain the sums of $50,000, $30,909.06, $20,000 and N1,050,000.60.

The agency claimed that the $50,000 was obtained from one Raji Babatunde.
The defendants were accused of falsely representing themselves “as possessing power or capable of doubling or otherwise increasing the said sum through the medium of invocation of juju or other an invisible entity.”
Prosecution counsel Bilkisu Buhari said the offences contravened Section 8(a), 2(b) and Section 2(c) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006 of the Act.

Following Mutholib’s plea, his counsel Oludare Adetoki informed the court that he had filed an application for bail but had only just served the prosecution.

But Buhari indicated her intention to oppose him and prayed the court to adjourn for her to file a counter-affidavit against the bail application.
Granting her prayer, Justice Oweibo adjourned till March 1, 2022, to take arguments for and against the motion for bail.