A 35-year old university graduate, Adesokan Ifeoluwa, who allegedly took N1.4 million from his lover with a promise to marry her, but ditched her and used the money to marry another woman, has pleaded with a judge to send him to prison.
Ifeoluwa is facing a three-count charge of felony, obtaining under false pretence and stealing before a Lagos Magistrate’s Court sitting Ejigbo, southwest Nigeria.
He broke down in tears after he learnt that his wife identified as Kemi, whom he used the money to marry, had equally left him.
He also changed his earlier plea of not guilty to guilty and asked the court to jail him when this realisation dawned on him.
The Ekiti State-born and graduate of Public Administration from Ado- Ekiti State University, said he preferred to be in prison since Kemi has also left him because of his predicament which started nine months ago.
However, he could not secure the sentence after the prosecutor, Mr Adeleye Oluwafemi, presented the facts and sentence.
He objected to some of the facts presented before the court.
The court presided over by Mr P. E. Nwaka entered not guilty plea for him following his counsel’s request and adjourned the matter.
Ifeoluwa allegedly left a middle aged woman, Amusa Taiwo, in the lurch after she allegedly gave him N1.4 million with the hope that he would marry her in Lagos.
Instead of fulfilling his own part of the agreement to marry her, Ifeoluwa used the money to marry Kemi who eventually dumped him.
Consequently, the jilted Taiwo who felt betrayed and duped, demanded her money back from him, and when it was not forthcoming, she went to the police at Idimu Division to report the alleged fraud.
Ifeoluwa was arrested by the police and charged to court with fraud.
He is facing a three-count charge of felony, obtaining under false pretence and stealing, under the Criminal Code Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria.
While he was facing trial at the court, another woman complainant appeared and told the court that she suffered a similar fate in the hands of Ifeoluwa and the matter was still at court three, Otta Magistrate’s Court, Ogun State, southwest Nigeria, where he allegedly jumped bail.
The complaint urged the court to order his re-arrest for him to come to Otta to face his trial.
Narrating what happened, Ifeoluwa, 35, told our correspondent that he is from Ekiti State and read Public Administration at Ado-Ekiti University.
He said Taiwo was his lover before they parted ways.
The defendant admitted before the court that Taiwo was his lover and he wanted to marry her but things went wrong along the line and the marriage plans did not work out.
He said he actually collected the money from her and did not steal it as she alleged, adding that she was angry because the marriage plans failed.
He also admitted that he had another woman he wanted to marry before he met Taiwo and said the money assisted him to settle down with the other woman and promised to pay her back.
Taiwo, who was still shocked about what happened, alleged that he collected all the money from her under false pretence to execute a contract and raise more money for their marriage.
She said after he collected the money, he bolted away.
On how she met Ifeoluwa, she said she met him at the Winners Chapel church in Ogun State.
The court, however, granted him bail in the sum of N700,000 with two sureties in like sum.
He was subsequently remanded in prison custody at Kirikiri pending when he will meet the bail conditions.
When the matter came up after several adjournments, he changed his plea hoping he would be sentenced, but was disappointed as his counsel asked the court to take plea of not guilty. The court consequently entered not guilty plea for him and adjourned the matter till 4 December 2013 for trial.
[PMNews]