Justice Mahmud Abdulgafar of the Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin has ordered the remand of Alexander Adeniran Babarinde, a Kwara-based Businessman, in the Correctional Service over his alleged involvement in contract scam, obtaining money under false pretense and forgery.
The Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had arraigned Babarinde, from Oro-Ago in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State for allegedly defrauding a complainant to the tune of N170million as capital to execute non-existent contracts.
He was docked in court alongside his company, Ajays Engineering Limited and one Suleiman Muhammed, (who is currently at large) on eight count charges bordering on obtaining under false pretences.
The defendants allegedly obtained several amounts of money from the complainant under the guise of funding and executing some federal government contracts.
The petitioner alleged that Babarinde brought some contract awards letters from Ecological Fund Management Committee Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Development, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Umaru Musa Yar’adua University, Katsina Universal Basic Education Commission, National Research Institute for Chemical Technology.
But the EFCC’s findings revealed that the letters were forged and never emanated from the said government agencies.
According to the petitioner, attempts to recover the money proved abortive.
After the order for the remand of the defendant, the judge adjourned the case till March 13, 2024 for trial.
News Hub Mag! reports that count three of the charges against the defendant reads, “That you, ALEXANDER ADENIRAN BABARINDE, AJAYS ENGINEERING LIMITED and SULEIMAN MOHAMMED (STILL AT LARGE), sometime between the months of January 2021 and December 2021, in Ilorin Kwara State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, did obtain the sum of N30,530,300.00 (Thirty Million, Five Hundred and Thirty Thousand, Three Hundred Naira) from one EZEKIEL OLA BABATUNDE as fees for the funding and execution of Federal Government contracts and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1 (1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act”.
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Count four of the charges reads, “That you, ALEXANDER ADENIRAN ,BABARINDE, AJAYS ENGINEERING LIMITED and SULEIMAN MOHAMMED (STILL AT LARGE), sometime between January 2022 and December 2022, in Ilorin, Kwara State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud did obtain the sum of N6,655,009.00 (SIX MILLION, SIX HUNDRED AND FIFTY FIVE THOUSAND NAIRA) from one EZEKIEL OLA BABATUNDE as fees for the funding and execution of Federal Government contracts and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1 (1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offence Act, 2006 and Punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act”.
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The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were read to him
Following his plea, counsel to the EFCC, Rasheedat Alao urged the court to remand the defendant (Babarinde) in the custody of the Nigeria Correctional Service and give a date for trial to enable the prosecution to prove its case.
