Justice Sikiru Oyinloye yesterday ordered the remand of the Kwara State Television Authority, Alhaji Adulfatai Adewale Adebowale in Oke Kura Correctional Centre, pending the determination of his bail application.
This followed his arraignment on Wednesday, November 6, 2019, on six-count charges bordering on corrupt practices by the Ilorin Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Trouble started for Adebowale when some staffs of the television station petitioned the EFCC, alleging that the station’s general manager sold 10 plots of land allocated to workers by the state government and converted the proceeds to his personal use.
The petitioners also alleged that the defendant used his influence to allocate a portion of the land to his daughter who is not a staff of the television station.
Count three of the charge reads: “That you, Abdulfatai Adewale Adebowale, being a public officer, as the General Manager of Kwara State Television Authority, sometime between May 2015 and June 2015, in Ilorin within the jurisdiction of the High Court of Kwara State, used your office to confer corrupt advantage upon yourself, when you received a cash deposit of the sum of ₦2,350,000.00 (Two Million, Three Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira) only, through your Stanbic IBTC Bank account number: 0007306612 from Sulyman Abdulkareem, being proceeds from the sale of land, allocated to staff of Kwara State Television and thereby committed an offence, contrary to and punishable under Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Act, 2000.”
Adebowale pleaded not guilty to all the charges, prompting prosecution counsel, Christopher Mschelia to ask the court for a trial date and for the defendant to be remanded in prison custody.
Citing the ill-health of the defendant, defence counsel, D.B Hasana, prayed the court to rather remand the defendant in the custody of the EFCC.
Justice Oyinloye adjourned the matter till Tuesday, November 12 for the hearing of the bail application and ordered that the defendant be remanded in Oke Kura Correctional Centre.
