The police have arraigned three persons
for allegedly cloning the telephone number of Governor Rauf Aregbesola
and for attempting to defraud the Osun State Government of N18m with the
telephone.
Two of the suspects, Oladele Anthony
Olutoye and Adeniran Adetayo Esho, who were arrested by the operatives
of the Department of State Services were arraigned last week before
Magistrate Fatimoh Sodemade.
The magistrate ordered that the duo should be remanded in prison custody.
The third accused person, Timi Gbenro,
was also arrested by the operatives of the DSS and he was arraigned
before Magistrate Olusola Aluko in Osogbo on Tuesday.
The prosecutor told the court that
Gbenro and two others earlier arraigned conspired and cloned the
telephone number of the governor.
He told the court that the suspects
fraudulently through a text message requested the Accountant-General of
the state to forward N18m into their account.
The prosecution said the accused
persons through their action committed offences contrary to and
punishable under Sections 484, 422 and 419 of the Criminal Code, Cap 34,
Volume II, laws of Osun State of Nigeria, 2002.
Gbenro, who was not represented by any
counsel, pleaded not guilty to the three counts preferred against him
just like the two accused persons earlier arraigned.
The charge sheet read, “That you
(accused persons) on February 17, 2016 did commit an offence to wit:
impersonation, by cloning the Executive Governor of Osun State, Rauf
Aregbesola’s phone number 08024537105 to send a text message to the
Accountant-General of Osun State requesting him to transfer the sum of
N18m to your account number 001785491 and sort code 215333358 with Unity
Bank.”
The magistrate ordered that the
defendant be remanded in Ilesa Prison custody. He ordered the defendant
to make a formal application for his bail and adjourned the case till
June 6, 2016 for mention.
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