The Police Special Fraud Unit (PSFU) Ikoyi, Lagos, on Tuesday, arraigned First City Monument Bank (FCMB) and three others before Special Offences Court, Ikeja, Lagos, over alleged forgery and mortgage fraud.
Other defendants arraigned alongside FCMB were; Okogun Polycarp, Batik Line International Limited, and Bolaji Adebajo, who is currently at large.
At the resumption of proceedings, when the charge was read to the defendants, they all pleaded not guilty to the four counts preferred against them.
The first defendant, Okogun Polycarp, took the plea for himself and on behalf of FCMB and Batik Line International Limited.
Following the defendants’ not-guilty pleas, the prosecutor, Barrister Daniel Apochi, urged the court to order their remand in a correctional facility.
In response, defence counsel M. O. Abdul informed the court that he had filed the bail application on behalf of the defendants.
He noted that the application, dated 10 March had also been served on the prosecution.
Following the submissions by the counsel, Justice Ijelu ordered the remand of the 1st defendant (Polycarp) in a correctional facility pending the hearing of his bail application.
The judge, thereafter, adjourned the matter till March 24, for the hearing of the bail application and the commencement of trial.
The offences against all the defendants according to the PSFU, are in violation of Section 411 of the Criminal Code Law of Lagos State, 2015.
The prosecution alleges that between 2008 and 2009, the defendants conspired to forge the signature of Mrs Grace Adenike Akinwusi on several legal documents, including an authority to create a legal mortgage, a deed of assignment, an irrevocable power of attorney, and a memorandum of understanding.
These forged documents were allegedly used to fraudulently convert her property at No. 5B, Sasegbon Street, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos.
The second count accuses the defendants of forgery, in violation of sections 363(1)(a), (b), and 368(3)(d) of the Criminal Code Law of Lagos State, 2015, while the third count pertains to the fraudulent use of false documents under Section 366(1).
The four count charges FCMB and the other defendants with theft under sections 280(1)(6), 280(1)(2), and 287 of the Lagos State Criminal Code Law.
They are also alleged to have stolen the property at No. 5B, Sasegbon Street by dishonestly converting it for personal use through forged documents. (Eighteen eleven media)
