A legal practitioner, Afolayan Olumide, has been arraigned before a Chief Magistrate’s Court sitting in Osogbo, capital of Osun State, for allegedly stealing the sum of N2, 860,000.00 that was erroneously transferred to his bank account.
The Point gathered that Olumide is a lawyer who was called to the bar in 2015. He is said to be based and practicing in Akure, capital of Ondo State.
Olumide, aged 34, was accused by the police of receiving the sum of N2,860,000,00 which was mistakenly transferred to his Polaris Bank account on March 19, 2024, failed to resend the money back to the owner and proceeded to spend the huge amount.
According to the police prosecuting officer, Corporal Oluokun Babatunde, Olumide was tracked to Akure and arrested by the police in January, 2025, after about ten months of failing to return the money to the rightful owner.
The charge read to the defendant in court read, “That you Barrister Afolayan Olumide ‘m’ on the 19th day of March 2024 at about 1000hrs at Tinumola Area Osogbo in the Osogbo magisterial district, did steal and convert the sum of Two Million and Eight Hundred and Twenty Six Thousand Naira (N2,860,000.00) to your Polaris Bank account number 101922846 for your own use, when the money was erroneously transferred to your account, property of one Solomon Fancy ‘m’ and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 390 (9) of the criminal code cap 34 Vol. II Laws of Osun State Nigeria 2002.”
Olumide, however, pleaded not guilty to the one count of theft leveled against him.
The defence counsel, Theophilus Idowu, applied for his colleague’s bail and urged the court to make the bail conditions affordable.
But, the prosecutor objected to the bail application on the ground that Olumide could not be trusted as he was tracked with technological devices before being apprehended, and therefore, asked the court to discountenance the bail prayer.
At this juncture, Olumide burst into tears, and profusely begged the presiding Chief Magistrate Olusegun Ayilara to take cognizance of his legal profession by being lenient with him.
Olumide said he could not explain why he spent the money, adding that he had an accident not quite long after he received the money.
He said he was ready to submit his certificates, including his call to bar documents to court in order to prove to the court that he would not run away, disclosing his readiness to run around for the money and return it to the owner before the next adjourned date.
Ayilara, then, granted Olumide bail in the sum of N2 million with a surety in the same amount.
The Magistrate said the surety must be a practicing lawyer not less than ten years in the bar, based in Osogbo and who must own a house, be living in the same and must be ready to submit the title documents of the house to the court.
He also ordered that the accused person should submit his certificates and international passport to court.
The matter was adjourned till March 1 for mention.
