Ayodele Olalere
Bolarinwa Oluwasegun Abiodun, whose real name is Hassan Kareem Ayinde, who impersonated former President Olusegun Obasanjo , was , on Thursday, sentenced to seven years imprisonment without an option of fine.
He was convicted by Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of a Special Offences Court, Ikeja, following a plea bargain where he admitted using the name of the former president to defraud a business man, Mr. Bamidele Olusegun Safiriyu, to the tune of N266.5milion.
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He was charged on 13 count charge. Apart from the sentence, the court also ordered that the convict should give to the complainant N20 million, and forfiet four vehicles recovered during search on his home at 1A Joke Ayo street, Alagbado, Lagos, as well as forfeit the building.
Other properties to be forfeited includes a black Range Rover Sport HSA with Reg No APJ YAB 289 BD, a black BMW 750 NNI with chasis No WBAKC6C51A393501, a black Toyota Land Cruiser V6 ESR with Chasis No JINHU09JXV4086310 and a white Toyota Hilux woyh Reg No Lagos KTU 985 BT.
Also, the court ordered that the First Bank of Nigeria account of Bolarinwa Oluwasegun Abiodun containing N1,400 be closed.
Justice Taiwo said that the action of the convict shows the length scammer can go to defraud innocent victims, adding that he portrayed himself to be a general and perfected the scam by his level of his education ‘that one wonders if such individual should be allowed to walk scot free.’
It is so sad that people have given our dear country a bad name. I intend to send a clear message to scammers, she said.
It is recalled the convict was arraigned on April 11, 2022 for falsely representing himself to the complainant, Kodef Clearing Resources, as a General in the Nigerian Army who had been shortlisted by President Muhammadu Buhari to be appointed as the Chief of Army Staff, COAS, and that he needed a short grant to “press and process the appointment.”
He was arrested at his house in the Alagbado area of Lagos State on Wednesday, January 12, 2022.
He also forged a letter of appointment as COAS purportedly signed by the President and showed the same to the victim to further prove his claim.
