A senior official of MTN Nigeria, Funsho Finnih, and his sister, Oluwatosin Olowodola, were yesterday arraigned before Justice O. A. Williams of an Ikeja Special Offences Court for allegedly defrauding a man, Semaan Abboud.
Finnih and Olowodola, a designer, were arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a two-count charge bordering on fraud and conspiracy.
The EFCC alleged that the duo committed the crime on February 18, 2009 in Lagos, with the intent to defraud, conspire to obtain money by false pretence from Abboud. According to EFCC, Finnih and Olowodola on May 2, 2009 fraudulently defraud Abboud of N50 million.
“The duo under false representation sold a property located at No. 40, Oduduwa Crescent, G.R.A, Ikeja, Lagos. They have claimed to have the right to sell the said property, a claim which they knew to be false,” the EFCC said.
However, the accused both denied the charge.
In view of the defendant’s plea, the prosecution counsel, Mr. M. S. Owede, asked the court for a trial date while he also prayed that the defendants be remanded in prison custody. Counsel to the defendants, Mr. Vincent Orizu, who prayed the court to allow him make an oral bail application on behalf of his clients, said if the first defendant was refused bail, he might lose his job with MTN.
