A 45-year-old self-proclaimed pastor, Mayowa Abolaji, who allegedly defrauded a woman out of 10 million naira, appeared in Ikeja Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
Police charged Abolaji with three counts of conspiracy, obtaining money by deception and robbery.
The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The prosecutor, ASP Ezekiel Ayorinde, told the court that the defendant and others who have not yet been arrested committed the crime between 2015 and 2018 in Alakuko and Ogba in Lagos.
He said the defendant obtained N10 million from Ms. Teni Yakubu, promising to resolve her childless marriage, a representation he knew to be false.
“The accused approached the complainant, who had been married for years without having children, under the pretext of providing a spiritual solution to her sterility.
“He charmed the whistleblower and raised N10 million through the accounts of Isiaka Akinola and Aderonke Olawale, who are still at large.”
The prosecutor said the crime contravened the provisions of Articles 287, 314 and 411 of the 2015 Lagos State Penal Law.
Section 287 prescribes three years in jail for theft, while section 314 attracts 15 years to obtain money under a false pretense.
Magistrate O.A. Layinka admitted that the defendant bailed in the sum of N2million with two bonds in the same sum.
Layinka ordered that the bonds must be remunerated and show evidence of two years of tax payment to the Lagos state government.
He postponed the case until February 18.
YAYA
