Oba Abdulsemiu Ogunjobi, the suspended Olorile of Orile-Ifo in Ogun State, has been freed from prison in Ilaro, two weeks after being charged with the alleged public assault of a septuagenarian.

He was brought before a Magistrate’s Court in Ifo by law enforcement, where he was granted bail but subsequently held at the Nigeria Correctional Service in Ilaro, within the Yewa South Local Government Area, until he fulfilled the requirements of his bail.

The spokesperson of Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS), Mr. Odukoya Owolola Olayinka, a Superintendent of NCoS, told The Nation that Oba Ogunjobi had gone home about three days ago after meeting his bail terms.

“He (Oba Ogunjobi) has gone home about three days ago,” Olayinka said.

Oba Ogunjobi was arraigned on a three-count charge of conspiracy, assault, and conduct likely to lead to a breach of peace.

Force spokesman, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Muyiwa Adejobi, disclosed the arraignment in his social media post, stating that the monarch was charged to court.

“The Kabiyesi Abdulsemiu Ogunjobi, who assaulted one elderly man in a viral video, in Ifo Ogun State, has been charged to court  February 4, 2025, on three-count charges of conspiracy, assault and conduct likely to lead to a breach of peace.

“He was granted bail while the case was adjourned to 06/03/2025. The police will continue to uphold the rule of law and the core values of the noble profession,” Adejobi stated.

Oba Ogunjobi who was arraigned before Magistrate F.A Iroko, pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him.

The Magistrate granted him bail of N5m, with two sureties in like sum, and he must be a resident within the court jurisdiction.

Justice Rosemary Dugbo Oghoghorie of the Federal High Court in Calabar has convicted and sentenced the Chief Executive Officer, Micheno Multi-purpose Cooperative Society, Uno Michael Eke to one year imprisonment for conspiracy, obtaining property by false pretence and money laundering to the tune of N2billion.

He was jailed after pleading guilty to four-count amended charge preferred against him by the Uyo Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Count One reads “That you, Uno Michael Eke (being the President/Chief Executive Officer of Micheno Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society); Registered Trustees of Micheno Multi Purpose Cooperative Society, MMCS, Aya Kanu Aya, (Alias Mbakara) being the Vice President of Micheno Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society (now at large), sometime between June and August 2018 in Calabar within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, conspired among yourselves to commit an offence to wit: obtaining property by false pretence and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 8 (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act’.

Count two reads “That you, Uno Michael Eke (being the President/Chief Executive Officer of Micheno Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society), Registered Trustees of Micheno Multi Purpose Cooperative Society, MMCS, Aya Kanu Aya (Alias Mbakara) being the Vice President of Micheno Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society (now at large), on or about the 12th day of July, 2018 in Calabar within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, did obtain the sum of Two Million Naira (N2,000,000.00) from one Kubnse Ogar Ebute by inducing her to invest the money into your Swiss golden packages through your Micheno Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society ltd under the false pretence of paying her 80% as return on investment on her principal sum on the 40th day of his investment, which you knew to be false and thereby committed an Offence contrary to Section 1 (1) (b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act”.

When the charge was read to Eke, he pleaded guilty to the criminal offence.

In view of his guilty plea, the prosecuting EFCC’s lawyer, Joshua Abolarin prayed the court to convict the defendant based on the charges before the court. The defence lawyer , Ime Umanah informed the court of a plea bargain agreement before the court and prayed for a lighter jail term for his client.

The judge, after considering the plea of the convict and evidence before the court, convicted and sentenced Eke to one year imprisonment with an option of fine of N2m Also, the convict was ordered to forfeit the following to the Federal Government of Nigeria:

Twelve wflats of 2 bedrooms each located by Goodluck Jonathan bypass, Calabar River State, two (2) plots of land (4.162 hectares and 3.391 hectares) both located at Adiabo Ikot Mboout Community Land, Odupkpani LocAl Government Area, Cross River State, two (2) plots of land located at Akai Effa, Calabar Municipality, Cross River State and eighteen (18) self-contained flats (storey building), located beside University of Calabar, Ita-Agbor, Calabar, Cross River State and N10,000.000( Ten Million Naira) recovered during investigation. The judge ordered that all monies recovered from the convict should be restituted to victims listed in all the charges.

Eke’s road to the Correctional Centre began when he was arrested for collecting huge sums of money from different unsuspecting victims with a promise of 80% return on investment within 40 days. Investigations showed that he opened different bank accounts in his name and company’s where he raked in the sum of N2 billion from his victims. The funds were used to acquire landed properties and houses in Calabar, Cross River State.

The recent efforts by former military president General Ibrahim Babangida to alter the narrative surrounding the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election have elicited significant public outcry. Dr. Joe Odumakin, the President of the Centre for Change, has vocally criticized this initiative.

In his remarks following Babangida’s statements during the launch of his autobiography, Odumakin accused the former president of employing “Maradona-style double-speak.” He pointed out that while Babangida acknowledged his role in the annulment, he simultaneously shifted blame onto the late General Sani Abacha, who was serving as his Chief of Army Staff at the time.

“It is ridiculous that Babangida, as Commander-in-Chief, would accuse a deceased man of such a grave offence, knowing fully well that Abacha can no longer defend himself,” Odumakin said.

She questioned Babangida’s claims, pointing out that he had the authority to remove Abacha if the latter had indeed acted against the people’s mandate given to Chief Moshood Abiola.

Odumakin also recalled the repeated delays in Babangida’s transition to civilian rule, noting that he postponed the handover to a democratically elected government in 1990 and 1992 before finally annulling the 1993 election.

“Will he also blame Abacha for those postponements? What about the banning, unbanning, and re-banning of political associations and individuals? Was Abacha responsible for that too?” she asked.

According to Odumakin, Babangida’s transition programme was never designed to hand over power to a democratic government.

She called on President Bola Tinubu to take decisive steps to correct the historical injustice.

“For now, President Tinubu should posthumously recognize Abiola as a past President of Nigeria and grant his family all the rights and entitlements due to deceased presidents.

“Furthermore, those responsible for the annulment of the 1993 election must be held accountable for the chaos and unrest it unleashed on the nation,” she stated.