Dipo Olowookere
By Ebitonye Akpodigha
A suspected fraudster has allegedly used documents from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to dupe an Indian and his company.
The accused person, Mr Laolu Ladimeji Lakitan, was brought before Justice O. A. Taiwo of the Lagos State High Court on Friday by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The anti-graft agency arraigned the suspect on a four-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence, forgery, use of false document and impersonation.
He was said to have duped Mr Pradeep Kumar Mehta and his company, Company Enkay-Indo Nigerian Limited to the tune of N130.4 million.
“That you Laolu Balogun Ladimeji Lakitan between January 2013 and December, 2013 in Lagos within the Lagos Judicial Division with intent to defraud obtained the sum of N130,397,335.00 from Mr Pradeep Kumar Mehta an Indian National by falsely pretending to Mr Pradeep that the said sum of money represented the cost of Crude oil allocation which pretence you knew to be false ‘and committed an offence contrary to section 365 (1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2001,” one of the charges against him read.
However, the suspect pleaded not guilty.
Thereafter, Justice Taiwo granted the defendant bail in the sum of N10 million, with two sureties in like some.
The judge also ruled that one of the sureties must be a family member while the other, who should have a landed property in Lagos with Certificate of Ownership, must be a level 12 civil servant, while the matter was adjourned to December 5 for further hearing.
