Seun Egbegbe
Eko Hot Blog reports that Nollywood filmmaker, Olajide Kareem, alias Seun Egbegbe, has regained his freedom after spending more than six years in prison custody.
Egbegbe was remanded on February 10, 2017, after allegedly obtaining money by false pretence from no fewer than 40 Bureaux De Change operators in different parts of Lagos for over a period of two years between 2015 and 2017.
He was accused of swindling the BDC operators by claiming that he had naira to change into foreign currencies.
On Tuesday, a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos convicted the Nollywood producer.
Out of 44 counts against him, the court found Egbegbe guilty of only one count, count 19 and was sentenced to seven years imprisonment.
However, the presiding judge, Justice Oluremi Oguntoyinbo, ordered his release because he had already served six years and eight months in detention.
The police arraigned the 45-year-old for alleged fraud involving N39m; $90,000 and £12,550, N39,098,100, respectively.
The force accused Egbegbe, who once managed Fuji artistes, Wale Ayinde, Tekoma and Pasuma, of swindling the BDC operators.
His first arraignment alongside one Oyekan Ayomide was on February 10, 2017, before Justice Oguntoyinbo, on 36 counts bordering on Advance Fee fraud.
Lawal Kareem, Olalekan Yusuf and Muyideen Shoyombo later joined the duo on a 44-count charge.
Justice Oguntoyinbo held that 43 of the 44 count charges crumbled due to lack of witnesses to substantiate them.
Additionally, the judge held that the prosecuting team failed in the responsibility to provide evidence to be backed with witnesses on Counts 4, 19 and 21.
He also said that police tampered with the money recovered from the suspects.
Lastly, Justice Oguntoyinbo ordered that all the money recovered from Egbegbe as evidence should be returned to him.
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