EFCC drags School proprietress, other to court over visa scam

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has dragged a school proprietress, Motunrayo Olasebikan before the Oyo State High Court over alleged involvement in a visa scam.

She was arraigned alongside one Abideen Tijani before Justice Ladiran Akintola on seven counts bothering forgery, perjury and uttering documents.

EFCC’s head of Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren in a statement on Thursday stressed that the defendants were arrested after one Inumidunsola Popoola wrote a petition to the Commission on behalf of himself and other victims.

The EFCC said, it discovered that in the last two years, the defendants
presented themselves as registered travel agents and they have been tricking the victims to part with money for processing travel documents.

Poopola in his petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission stated that travel documents issued him by the defendants were forged, hence, he was turned back at the point of travelling abroad.

The charges read in part, “That you, Motunrayo Olasebikan and Abideen Tijani, around September 2018, at Ibadan, within the Ibadan judicial division of this honourable court, did make a document, titled, ‘Electronic Travel Authorisation’ No. J511464256 in the name of one Adediran Pamilerin Adedayo, purporting it to have been issued by the Canadian High Commission on July 6, 2016, and expiring on June 6, 2021, with the intent that it may be acted upon as genuine, which you knew to be false, thereby committing an offence.”

The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Following the plea of the defendants, the prosecution, led by Ben Ubi, asked the court for a trial date and urged the court to remand them in custody.

The defence counsel, A. B. C. Ademiluyi and S. O. Alli, prayed the court for a short adjournment to hear the bail applications of their clients.

Justice Akintola subsequently adjourned the case till October 7 for the hearing of the bail applications and ordered that the defendants be remanded in the EFCC’s custody.