BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
A 24-year-old graduate of the Osun State University, Okuku Campus, Omowonuola Agbeluyi, has been arraigned before a Chief Magistrate’s court in Osogbo, the state capital, for reportedly trading in crypto currency.
The Point reports that on February 5, the Central Bank of Nigeria issued a ruling instructing all financial institutions to stop the facilitation of all transactions involving crypto currencies.
The police accused Agbeluyi of failing to pay another crypto currency trader the N1,976,000:00 worth of Bitcoin after assuring the complainant that he was going to facilitate the exchange.
Police prosecutor, Inspector Kayode Adeoye, informed the court that the defendant committed the offence on July 14 in Osogbo, adding that he defaulted in returning the Bitcoin to the owner, Jeremiah Akinola, after failing to exchange it to naira.
The charge sheet obtained in court read in parts, “That Omowonuola Agbeluyi on the 14th of July, 2021 at Powerline area, Osogbo, in the Osogbo Magisterial District, did have another way of trading cryptocurrency after being banned by the Federal Government of Nigeria and also used same to deceive one Akinola Jeremiah by obtaining BTC known as Bitcoin worth 0.1169 with the promise of helping him to change the Bitcoin to Nigeria’s currency of N1,976,000 only, but failed to do so and also refused to refund the BTC and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 419 of the Criminal Code, Cap 34, Vol II, Laws of Osun State of Nigeria, 2002.”
The defendant pleaded not guilty to the one-count charge. His counsel, Suleiman Akano, prayed the court to grant his client bail in liberal term.
According to Akano, the Constitution presumed the defendant innocent until proven otherwise by the prosecution.
However, Adeoye opposed the oral bail application on the ground that the defendant lives in Ibadan, Oyo State and that if released on bail, he might abuse the privilege since he was not resident within the court’s jurisdiction.
Reacting, the defence counsel argued that the location of his client should not be an excuse to deny him bail inasmuch as Agbeluyi could produce a reliable surety to stand for him.
In his ruling on the applications, Chief Magistrate A. A. Adebayo declined the objections and granted the defendant bail in the sum of N500,000 with one surety.
Adebayo said the surety should either be a civil servant not below grade level 8 or a house owner within the court’s jurisdiction. He said either of the surety should tender their letter of last promotion or house documents to the court. The matter was adjourned till September 6 for mention.
Agbeluyi, who could not meet the bail conditions, was taken to the Ilesa Correctional facility after spending three days in Police custody.
