Police arraign lawyer for forgery in Ondo

A legal practitioner, Olusegun Agunloye, was on Thursday arraigned before a Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Akure, the state capital, over allegations of forgery.

The lawyer was accused of presenting a fake testamentary instrument also known as the Will of one late Benjamin Ejelonu to the court probate registry in Akure.

The 49-year-old defendant was arraigned before the court by the police on two counts of conspiracy and forgery.

The police prosecutor, Nelson Akintimehin, informed the court that the defendant committed the offence on September 7, 2023, at about 10:30 am, at the probate registry, High Court in Akure

Akintimehin alleged that the defendant conspired with a sister of the deceased, one Aminat Bakare, who is currently facing trial in charge number MAK/372C/2024 in the same court, to forge the Will of the deceased and lodged it at the Probate Registry of the state High Court in Akure with the intent to defraud one Oluwamodupe Ejelonu.

According to the prosecutor, the offence committed contravened Sections 516 and 467(2)(f) of the Criminal Code Law of Ondo State, 2006.

However, the defendant pleaded not guilty to both charges.

The prosecutor asked the court to adjourn the case to enable him to assemble his witnesses and consolidate the two charges before the court.

However, the defence counsel, Kehinde Osadugbe, urged the court to grant his client bail on self-recognisance as a practising lawyer, claiming that the alleged offence was committed in the course of the defendant performing his legal duty as a lawyer.

But the prosecutor argued that the defendant was a flight risk if granted bail and that he had previously abused the administrative bail granted to him at the police station on self-recognisance.

Magistrate Kolawole Aro granted the defendant bail in the sum of N2m with two sureties in like sum and adjourned the case until September 2024 for hearing and the consolidation of the cases. The defendant, who could not perfect his bail conditions, was subsequently remanded at the police station.