A lawyer, Matthew Oyeleye, has been brought before an Ojokoro Magistrate’s Court, Lagos State, for failing to appear at the court after he was granted bail for allegedly issuing N1.2m dud cheques to one Mrs. Omijie Nihinlolawa, an estate agent.
It was learnt that the lawyer had agreed to buy a house on Ayinde Street, Alagbado, for N19m with an agency fee of N1.2m.
He was reportedly advised to pay a token to show his seriousness. The lawyer allegedly issued two cheques for N1.2m.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the 35-year-old lawyer was given the documents of the house with a promise to pay the N19m later.
But the cheques were reportedly dishonoured due to insufficient funds in the lawyer’s bank accounts.
Our correspondent learnt that he had allegedly been avoiding the agent since May 30, 2014 when the cheques were issued, but was arrested and taken to the Alagbado Police Station in October 2014 for the alleged crime.
Our correspondent also gathered that Oyeleye was released on bail after a surety, said to be his church member, Duruji Chinedu, stood in for him at the station.
Chinedu was later arrested and charged to the court after the lawyer failed to report at the station. The surety, it was learnt, spent two months in prison custody before his bail was perfected.
Following an order by the magistrate, Mrs. A.O. Olayinka, the defendant was re-arrested and arraigned by a prosecutor, Inspector Benson Emuerhi, on three counts bordering on issuance of dud cheques and jumping bail.
The charges read in part, “That you, Matthew Oyeleye, on October 15, 2014 on Keshi Ayinde Street, Alagbado, in the Ikeja Magisterial District, did present an FCMB cheque of N250,000 with number 09293037 and Enterprise cheque of N1m with number 20488607, which was issued on May 5, 2014 to Mrs. Omijie Nihinlolawa for the purchase of a building and when both cheques were presented at the banks, they were dishonoured for lack of funds.”
The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges, which according to the police, are punishable under sections 319 (b), 166 (b) and 97 (1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2011.
The agent also told the court that she would
