In a significant development, the former Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Dele Olugbemi, has been ordered to be remanded in the Nigeria Correctional Centre by a chief magistrate court in Ado Ekiti. The remand order was issued in connection with allegations of conspiracy, fraud, and attempted murder. Tajero Adebayo was also remanded by the court on similar charges.
According to the charge, Dele Olugbemi (48) and Tajero Adebayo (42) are reasonably suspected to have committed the offenses of conspiracy, fraud, attempted murder, and threatening violence against Chief Ogunyemi Aluko and another individual. The incidents allegedly took place on February 24, 2023, around 7:00 p.m. and May 31, 2023, around 10:30 p.m. within the Ado Ekiti Magisterial District. These offenses are punishable under Section 421, 329 (1) (a), 241 (a), and 46 of the Criminal Law of Ekiti State, 2021.
Chief Ogunyemi Aluko, a factional leader of the Oodua People’s Congress in Ekiti State, provided a statement to the police, stating that Hon. Olugbemi deceived him into paying the sum of N400,000 for the recruitment of eighty (80) members into the Western Security Network, popularly known as Amotekun, at a rate of N5,000 per member. However, none of the members were included in the corps. When Chief Aluko requested a refund, Olugbemi allegedly used his former office to threaten and intimidate him. On May 31, 2023, Olugbemi arrived at Chief Aluko’s house with four armed individuals around 10:30 p.m., beating him mercilessly and causing injuries before he managed to escape.
The Police prosecutor, Inspector Caleb Leramo, informed the court that the duplicate case file had been sent to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for legal advice. He requested that the defendants be remanded at the Nigeria Correctional Centre in Ado Ekiti until the issuance of the legal advice.
In his ruling, Magistrate Saka Afunso ordered the defendants to be remanded at the Nigeria Correctional Centre in Ado Ekiti pending the legal advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions. The case was adjourned until July 3, 2023, for mention.
These developments highlight the gravity of the allegations against the former Speaker and Tajero Adebayo, underscoring the commitment of the legal system to ensure justice and accountability in Ekiti State.