A 53-year-old travel agent, Hakeem Agbedo, who allegedly defrauded his client of N1. 2 million on the pretext of procuring him a Cyprus visa, on Tuesday appeared before an Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court.
The defendant, a resident of No. 67, Adeoyo St., Mushin in Lagos State, was arraigned on charges bordering on stealing, obtaining money under false pretences and impersonation.
He, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The prosecutor,Insp. Aondohemba Koti, said that the defendant allegedly obtained the sum of N 1.2 million from the complainant, one Chief Alex Anyikwa.
Koti added that the defendant also assured the complainant of getting him a Cyprus visa with the sum, a representation he knew to be false.
Koti told the court that the defendant committed the offences sometime in June in Lagos.
He said that the defendant fraudulently collected the sum of N1. 2 million from the complainant and diverted it into his own personal use.
“The defendant falsely presented himself as a travel agent to the complainant and promised to get him a visa to Cyprus.
“The defendant stole the N1. 2 million from the complainant as all attempts made to retrieve the money from him proved abortive,” the prosecutor said.
The chief magistrate, Mrs M.O. Tanimola, granted the defendant N250, 000 bail with two sureties in like sum.
Tanimola ordered that the sureties must be gainfully employed with an evidence of two years’ tax payment to the Lagos State Government and must be residing within the court’s jurisdiction.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the alleged offences violate Sections 280, 287, 380 and 314 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State 2015 (revised).
It also states that stealing and impersonation attract three years’ jail term respectively while obtaining money under false pretences is punishable with 15 years’ imprisonment, if found convicted.
The magistrate adjourned the case until Jan. 20,2020 for mention. (NAN)