Canadian siblings are wanted in Nigeria for blackmailing Nigerian Billionaire Femi Otedola.
The Matharoo sisters; Kiran and Taranjot are wanted in Nigeria following the lawsuit filed against them by Femi Otedola for extortion, blackmail and cyber bullying.
The sisters were arraigned alongside and accomplice Babatunde Oyebode a.k.a Baudex before a magistrate court in Yaba, Politics Nigeria reports.
It was discovered that the petition against the trio was filed by three petitioners namely; Femi Otedola, Dapo Balogun and Omeregie Ivie (Lawyer). The sisters and Oyebode were tracked down to Eko hotel, Lagos and arrested by the Nigerian police force. They were arraigned before a magistrate court in Yaba and granted bail in the sum of N500,000 each and two sureties each. The police seized an apple laptop, a camera and 2 Canadian passports from the sisters.
The sisters and Oyebode were tracked down to Eko hotel, Lagos and arrested by the Nigerian police force. They were arraigned before a magistrate court in Yaba and granted bail in the sum of N500,000 each and two sureties each. The police seized an apple laptop, a camera and 2 Canadian passports from the sisters.
They were arraigned before a magistrate court in Yaba and granted bail in the sum of N500,000 each and two sureties each. The police seized an apple laptop, a camera and 2 Canadian passports from the sisters.
According to the reports of Politics Nigeria, one of the sureties identified as one Alhaji Waheed Sobunlo. He wrote an undertaking on the 26/12/2016 to provide the trio on every date of adjournment.
At a second hearing into the case on in January 2017, the sisters did not appear in court and this prompted the presiding judge to issue a bench warrant for the sisters. The warrants were dated 25/1/2017.
A bench warrant was issued for their surety, Mr. Sobunlo on 2/2/2017 after he failed to produce the sisters in court. It was later discovered Sobunlo and 2 other sureties had also absconded. Only one of the sureties was arrested and he is currently in prison custody. Unconfirmed reports reveal that Sobunlo escaped to the US. All the issued bench warrants are still in effect.
During the course of investigations, Politics Nigeria reported that Sobunlo attempted to reclaim the passports of the girls from the police but met stiff resistance.
A source, however, stated that Sobunlo revealed that the girls obtained a temporary travel document from the Canadian high commission in Lagos which aided the girls in their escape.
The Canadian global affairs office has responded to the matter through a statement made available to Politics Nigeria by CityNews Toronto, and it reads;
Consular services have been provided to the Canadian citizens who had been detained in Lagos, Nigeria. To protect the privacy of the individuals concerned, further details on this case cannot be released.
IRCC is best placed to answer questions about the process for issuing emergency travel documents.
The statement was signed by the Global affairs spokesperson, John Babcock.
The Nigerian police have since written to the Canadian high commission in Lagos over the matter and currently awaiting a response.