Nigerian Nollywood star jailed for defrauding BDC operator regains freedom

Olajide Kareem, alias Seun Egbegbe, has regained freedom after seven years in prison.

The Nollywood film-maker and producer was remanded on February 10, 2017, after allegedly obtaining money by false pretence from no fewer than 40 Bureaus De Change, BDC, operators in different parts of Lagos.

He was accused of swindling the BDC operators by claiming that he had naira to change into foreign currencies and vice versa.

Seun Egbegbe alongside one Oyekan Ayomide were first arraigned on February 10, 2017, before Justice Oluremi Oguntoyinbo, on 36 counts bordering on advance fee fraud.

The duo were later joined by Lawal Kareem, Olalekan Yusuf and Muyideen Shoyombo on 44 count charges.

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However on October 11, a Federal High Court, Ikoyi in Lagos found Egbegbe guilty of just one of the 44 counts charges against him and set him free.

Justice Oluremi Oguntoyinbo declared that 43 of the 44 count charges were crumbled because of lack of witnesses to substantiate their claims.

She also decried that the prosecuting team failed in the responsibility to produce evidence, to be backed with witnesses on counts 4, 19 and 21.

The judge also said that police tampered with the money recovered from the suspects, Justice Oguntoyinbo also ruled that all the money recovered from Egbegbe as evidence should be returned to him.