Court sentences herbalist, five others to five-year imprisonment for defrauding Osun ex-speaker N38m

A Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo has sentenced six individuals including a herbalist, to five years imprisonment each for publishing a nude video of ex-speaker of Osun Assembly, Timothy Owoye on the internet after defrauding him of N38million.

The Nation recalled that a 13-second video of Timothy Owoeye had gone viral in 2018 where he appeared unclad and bathing in a market area.

It was alleged that the speaker was performing a ritual to avert death when he was accosted by community members of the Osunjela area of Osun State.

Subsequently, the convicts; Kazeem Agbabiaka, Femi Oyebode, Abdul-Rasheed Ojonla, Babatunde Oluajo, Adebiyi Kehinde, Oyebanji Oyeniyi and Ismaila Azeez were arraigned before a Magistrate court before they were transferred to Federal High court on October 19, 2018.

During the trial, the prosecution counsel led by the Assistant Director of Public Prosecution, Moses Faremi tendered 57 exhibits which included bank statements of three commercial banks where the money of fraud was received, a flash drive, a compact disc, a wooden box, $100, gun among others before the court.

Similarly, six witnesses testified against the convicts including the ex-speaker, Timothy Owoeye, an Investigating Police Officer and four bankers.

While delivering his judgement on Tuesday, November 7, Justice Emmanuel Ayoola convicted six of them over the alleged offences bothering on bordering on conspiracy, advance-free fraud, and cyberstalking among others.

Agbabiaka (herbalist), Oyebode (community leader), Ojonla (community leader) and Babatunde (Prince) were convicted of conspiracy and advance-free fraud while Adebiyi was convicted of cyberstalking.

However, Justice Ayoola discharged Oyeniyi on the case of conspiracy levelled against him.

Justice Ayoola established that the convicts swindled the ex-speaker of N38 million and also posted his nude video on the internet which caused him (Owoeye) to ridicule.

While giving allocutus, the legal counsel to the convicts pleaded with the judge to tamper justice with mercy on the ground that they were first-time offenders and family men.

Justice Ayoola later sentenced all the convicts to 5 years imprisonment each.