The Director of Public Prosecution, Attorney General’s office, Oyo State Ministry of Justice, has applied for the takeover of the prosecution of a case involving a woman, Ajayi Oluwabukola, who was accused of defrauding Sunshine International School, Ibadan, of N34,250 million by false pretence.

The application for the takeover was presented by a state counsel, Q.C. Abraham, on behalf of the DPP at the sitting in Magistrate’s Court 2, Iyaganku, Ibadan, presided over by Magistrate Moruf Mudashiru, last Wednesday.

The application, a copy of which was copied to the O/C Legal/Prosecution, State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Iyaganku, sought the court’s directives to the police prosecutor to hand over the original case file to the DPP.

At the court sitting, from which the accused person was absent, were also the police prosecutor, CSP Justus Aladeloye; and the counsel to the defendant, Barrister A.T. Lamidi, who stood in for Barrister S.B. Ajibola. Before the last sitting, the defence counsel had told the court that the defendant was absent because she was indisposed and undergoing medical care.

When the case was called, the state counsel appeared to inform the court that the state was taking over the prosecution of the matter and a letter to that effect was forwarded to the magistrate.

Magistrate Mudashiru thereafter adjourned the case till September 17.

It will be recalled that the accused person was arraigned in Magistrate’s Court 2 on December 30, 2024, on a three-count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining by false pretence and stealing N34,250 million from Sunshine International School

Count 1 read: “That you Ajayi Oluwabukola ‘f’ and others now at large on the 4th September, 2024 at about 1400hrs at NTC Road Area Ibadan in the Ibadan Magisterial District did conspire together to commit felony to wit obtaining money by false pretence and stealing thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 516 of the Criminal Code Cap 38 Vol. II Laws of Oyo State, Nigeria 2000.

Count Three read: “That you Ajayi Oluwabukola and others now at large on the same date, time and place in the aforementioned Magisterial District did steal the sim of Thirty Four Million Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira (N34,250,000.00k) from Sunshine International School and thereby committed an offence contrary to 383 and punishable under Section 390(9) of the Criminal Code Cap 38 Vol.II Laws of Oyo State, Nigeria 2000.”

Olubukola, a parent with a child attending the school, had reportedly begun transacting with the school proprietress, Princess Taiwo Williams, on September 4, 2024, whom she called for a N200,000 loan to make a trip to China.

Days after, she called the proprietress again and told her that she was in China, and she could help the school buy what it needed for the end-of-the-year party.

After the money was said to have been sent to her, the school waited in vain for the goods to be delivered. It was then that the school got information that Oluwabukola was an alleged serial fraudster, and had allegedly done the same with the institution.

At the December 30, 2024 arraignment, the magistrate granted her bail, but she was kept in Agodi Correctional Centre before the bail was perfected after some days.

It was further learnt that after the release, Oluwabukola’s daughter, a student of the school, wrote petitions to Governor Seyi Makinde through the Ministry of Education, and to the Nigeria Police Technical Intelligence Response Unit, Zone XI headquarters, Osogbo, Osun State, alleging the school proprietress of bullying, molesting and harassing her.

Officials of the Ministry of Education were said to have come to the school for investigation, while the proprietress and some school staff were invited for interrogation in Osogbo on May 8.

A similar case relating to the defendant was in the news in 2024 when she was arraigned in court on February 14 by the Ibadan Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) before an Oyo State High Court, presided over by Justice Kamorudeen Babatunde Olawoyin, for allegedly obtaining N58,458 million from her victims by false pretence.

One of the four-count charge against her had read: “That you, Ajayi Oluwabukola Temitope ‘F’ on or about 9th April, 2021, at Ibadan, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of N23,183,000.00 (Twenty-three Million, One Hundred and Eight Three Thousand Naira) from Alhaji Yusuf Nadabo by falsely representing to him that the money is meant for the supply of four trucks of RC cola, Zero Cola and Coca Cola carbonated soft drinks which pretences you knew to be false and thereby commits an offence of obtaining money by false pretence contrary to Section 419 of the Criminal Code Law Cap 38, Laws of Oyo State, 2000.”

Another charge read: “That you, Ajayi Oluwabukola Temitope ‘F’ on or about 5th June, 2021, at Ibadan, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of N17,375,000.00 (Seventeen Million, Three Hundred and Seventy Five Thousand Naira) from Altine Musa by falsely representing to him that the money is meant for the supply of 4,500 cartons of carbonated soft drinks at the rate of N2,750.00 per carton and 6,500 cartons of Coca-Cola 35CL at the rate of N850.00 per carton which pretences you knew to be false and thereby commits an offence of obtaining money by false pretence contrary to Section 419 of the Criminal Code Law Cap 38, Laws of Oyo State, 2000.”

She had pleaded not guilty to the charges, but in response to her pleas, the prosecution counsel, Sanusi Musa Galandachi told the court that the defendant allegedly swindled her victims of their money under the pretext of supplying carbonated soft drinks to them.

He had specifically told the court that Oluwabukola fraudulently obtained the sum of N8.5million from one Idris Sheriff, N9.4million from one Ifeanyi Mmadubuike, N23.1million from one Alhaji Yusuf Nadabo and N17.3million from one Altine Musa.

Praying the court to remand her in prison and not grant her bail as a flight risk, the prosecution counsel disclosed that she jumped an administrative bail earlier granted her by the EFCC. He further said that there were several petitions received against the defendant that would soon be concluded for prosecution.

Responding to the prayers of the prosecution counsel, the defendant’s counsel, S.B. Ajibola pleaded with the court to admit his client to bail, adding that a bail application had been filed and served on the prosecution.

After listening to both counsels, Justice Olawoyin threw out the bail application filed by the defence counsel and ordered that the defendant be remanded in the EFCC detention facility pending the hearing and determination of the case.