Bribery : Court Sentences Naira Marley’s former lawyer To two years Imprisonment For Accepting N4 Million Bribe
Written By Dedeigbo Ayodeji
Posted By Town Crier News Nigeria
Published By Fitness Network Communications
The Special Offences Court in Ikeja’s Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo sentenced Taiwo Oreagba, a lawyer, to two years in prison on Thursday for accepting N4 million bribe.
After a two-year trial, Justice Taiwo found Oreagba guilty of representing “Am I a Yahoo boy?” singer Naira Marley.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) first presented Oreagba for the alleged offence on November 12, 2020, before Justice Sherifat Solebo of the Special Offenses Court in Ikeja, Lagos.
To a two-count charge involving an alleged corrupt demand and acquiring the N4m under false pretence, she entered a not guilty plea.
At the time, it was said that Henry Umoh paid Oreagba counsel for one Kelechi Uka, who was the subject of an EFCC investigation, N4m to sway EFCC officials into securing Uka’s release.
The Lagos State High Court is hearing the case of Uka for theft-related offences.
Oreagba was charged with committing the crime in Lagos on or around March 2, 2020, while serving as Umoh’s attorney.
The trial started after the defendant entered a plea, at which point she was given bail.
However, Justice Solebo withdrew from the case during the trial and it was returned to the Chief Judge for reassignment.
Justice Taiwo was then given the case.
In October 2022, Oreagba was re-arrested on the two counts, and the trial before Justice Taiwo began.
The defence summoned five witnesses, and the prosecution played an audio tape in which the defendant boasted that she could give her clients a smooth exit by providing EFCC agents Sini Oma John, Femi Olukinni, and their team some of the N4,000,000 to influence the agents.
The EFCC is bringing charges against the aforementioned Kelechi Uka before the Ikeja High Court.
Umoh described how Oreagba persuaded him to part with the cash throughout the trial. He asserted that she never gave a receipt.
Umoh who testified as Prosecution Witness (PW) 2 testified that the money the defendant allegedly demanded from him was not her professional fees, but the money she purported would be given and was given to EFCC officers.
Oreagba mentioned Sini Oma John and Femi Olukinni in the audio, but both women denied discussing Uka’s soft landing with Oreagba.
In addition, they insisted that they didn’t get any money from her, despite what Oreagba said in the audio recording.
Oreagba spoke on his own.
The defence, led by Mahmood Adesina (SAN), submitted a “no case” statement after the prosecution concluded its case, claiming that the funds were Oreagba’s professional expenses.
Justice Taiwo noted in her ruling that Oreagba did not object to the recording’s content.
For the crime of corrupt demand by a person, the judge jailed Oreagba for two years.
However, Justice Taiwo offered Oreagba the choice of an N500,000 fine after noting that the convicted party had returned the N4 million to her victim.
On the second offence of obtaining money under false pretence, the judge released Oreagba.
Justice Taiwo denounced the convict’s assertion that she could influence judges assigned to cases in the Lagos State Judiciary as well as law enforcement officials.
