A self-acclaimed pastor, Mayowa Abolaji, 45, who allegedly defrauded a woman of N10 million, was on Wednesday arraigned at an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court.
The police charged Abolaji with three counts of conspiracy, obtaining money under false pretence and theft.
The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges
The Police Prosecutor, ASP Ezekiel Ayorinde, told the court that the defendant and others yet to be apprehended, committed the offence between 2015 and 2018 at Alakuko and Ogba in Lagos.
He said that the defendant obtained N10 million from Mrs Teni Yakubu, with a promise to solve her childless marriage, a claim he knew to be false.
“The defendant approached the complainant, who had been married for years without a child, under the pretext of providing spiritual solution to her barrenness.
“He induced the complainant with charms and collected N10 million through the accounts of Isiaka Akinola and Aderonke Olawale, who are still at large,” Ayorinde said.
The prosecutor said the offence contravened the provisions of Sections 287, 314 and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
Section 287 prescribes three years’ jail term for stealing, while Section 314 fixes 15 years’ term for obtaining money under false pretence.
Magistrate O.A. Layinka later admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of N2 million with two sureties in like sum.
Layinka ordered that the sureties must be gainfully employed and they should show evidence of two years’ tax payment to the Lagos State Government.
She adjourned the case until Feb. 18, 2021.
