A 64-year old man, Fatai Omopariola, was on Tuesday appeared before an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court for alleged stealing and obtaining money by false pretences.
The prosecutor, Insp Chekwube Okeh, told the court that Omopariola, who resides at Mushin, Lagos State, fraudulently obtained N1.05 million from one Mr Moses Chukwudi.
He said that the defendant committed the offences between October 2021 and July 2022 at Mushin, Lagos.
The prosecutor said that Omopariola collected the money from Chukwudi on the pretext of renting a shop to him.
Okeh said that the defendant went into hiding after collecting the money, adding that efforts to get him to give out the shop or return the money failed.
He said that the offences contravened Sections 287 and 314 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The Magistrate, Mrs S.K. Matepo, granted the defendant bail in the sum of N500,000 with two sureties in like sum.
Matepo adjourned the case until Feb. 13 for mention.