Travel Agent Convicted For Defrauding Intending Hajj Pilgrims
Kemisola Oye
JUSTICE Oyindamola Ogala of a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja has convicted a travel agent, Alhaji Sharafadeen Irorun for scamming Muslim pilgrims of their money to the tune of N7,500,000.
The judge, while delivering judgment earlier today, found Alhaji Irorun guilty on four out of the 12 counts charge brought against him by the Lagos State government.
The state had arraigned Alhaji Irorun for allegedly defrauding some intending hajj pilgrims of N24.6m. Alhaji Irorun and others (still at large) were said to have fraudulently obtained the said sum from some intending pilgrims with an assurance to prepare them to travel for the 2014 Hajj in Saudi Arabia.
He was therefore arraigned on 12 counts bordering on obtaining by false pretences and stealing, contrary to the provision of sections 312 and 285 (9) (b) of the Criminal Code Law of Lagos State, 2011.
The judge held that the prosecution had sufficiently established that the defendant and others who are at large are a criminal group, found him guilty and convicted him on counts 1, 2, 5 and 6.
She held that: “The defendant and others who are at large are a criminal group who wittingly dispossessed innocent persons of their money under the pretext of helping them undergo the Hajj pilgrimage.”
The prosecution counsel, Mr. O. A. Azeez, had called three witnesses who were among the people that contributed the money that the third prosecution witness (PW3), Alhaji Lukman Abdulkareem, gave to the defendant.
The judge found that PW1 and PW2 had no direct involvement with the defendant but supported the evidence of PW3 who was involved with the defendant and whose evidence she described as ‘succinct and direct.’
Justice Ogala further held that: “It is also clear to the court that the evidence of PW1 and PW2 are fair, consistent with the case and indeed corroborate the evidence of the PW3.”
She however acquitted Alhaji Irorun of the other eight counts out of the 12 counts charge. She held that the prosecution failed to prove those counts against the defendant.
Justice Ogala held the PW3 told the court that 46 people, including himself, had contributed money and paid the sum of Seven Million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira (N7,500,000.00) to the defendant for the procurement of forms from the Lagos State Muslim Pilgrims Board in 2014.
Justice Ogala held that PW2 gave evidence that he gave Eight Hundred Thousand Naira (N800,000.00) to PW3 to help him pay for the Hajj pilgrimage for eight people after their original arrangement to secure seats failed.
She held that PW3 told the court that he discovered he had been scammed after he requested officials to give him the bag gifts meant for the pilgrims and was told that their names were not on the list.
PW3 told the court that he reported the incident to the police and they tracked down the defendant to his hometown residence in Osun State where they discovered other Lagos State Muslim Pilgrims Board forms that were fake.
Justice Ogala noted that the defendant’s counsel, Mr. S. M. Olatunji, told the court that the prosecution did not bring the Investigating Police Officer on the case to court to give evidence.
She held that Olatunji told the court that the defendant did not take money from the nominal complainants.
The judge therefore held that after considering evidence adduced before the court that the prosecution had established that the defendant was part of a criminal group that scams people out of their hard-earned under the pretext of pilgrimage.
She, therefore, convicted him of four counts but adjourned sentencing to 22 May 2024 and ordered the defendant’s counsel to address the court on allocutus.
Eighteen-Eleven Media
