Preceding, the prosecutor, Sgt. Donjor Perezi, told the court that the accused committed the offences sometime in December 2016, at Ijaiye area of Lagos. Perezi said that the accused obtained N8.25 million from the complainants on the pretext of procuring a Cyprus visa for them, a representation he knew was false.
He said that the five complainants gave the money to the accused, having no idea that he was planning to defraud them. The prosecutor said that the complainants claimed that the accused gave them fake visas, and when they realised, demanded that he should return their money. He said that the accused, however, refused to refund their money.
Perezi said the offences contravened sections 287, 314 and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015. Newsmen report that sections 287 and 314 prescribe three and 15 years imprisonment for stealing and obtaining by false pretence respectively, while section 411 prescribes two years for conspiracy.