Olayiwola Oguntade, a former Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) employee in Ibadan, Oyo State, has been convicted and jailed for fraud.
Oguntade was arraigned by the Ibadan Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on 13th October 2020, on a three-count amended charge relating to forgery, advance fee fraud, and obtaining money by false pretence, totalling N10,000,000.
Count one of the charge stated: “That you, Olayiwola Oguntade, sometime in 2010 at Ibadan, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of N10,000,000.00K (Ten Million Naira) only, by false pretence through Kola Al-Amin from Polybadan Microfinance Bank Ltd, and thereby committed an offence of obtaining money by false pretence, contrary to Section 1 (i) (b) and 1 (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006.”
Count two stated: “That you, Olayiwola Oguntade, sometime in 2010, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, forged an LPO titled: Re: Supply of Internet Services, purported to have been issued by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) dated 15th October 2010, with Ref No. JAMB/FIN/282/Vol.4/445, and thereby committed an offence of Forgery, contrary to Section 467 of the Criminal Code Law Cap 38, Laws of Oyo State, 2000.”
He pleaded not guilty, resulting in a trial lasting over four years. During the trial, the prosecution counsel, Oyelakin Oyediran and Lanre Suleiman, called 10 witnesses and tendered several incriminating documents, which were admitted as evidence. They urged the court to convict and sentence him accordingly.
In his judgment on 28th January 2025, Justice Taiwo held that “the prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, and the court is convinced that the defendant is guilty of the offences filed against him by the EFCC.” He convicted the defendant and sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment without the option of a fine.
Oguntade, who worked in the Finance and Accounts Department of JAMB, forged a Local Purchase Order (LPO) and a Letter of Domiciliation. He used these forged documents to obtain a N10 million loan from Polybadan Microfinance Bank, falsely claiming it was for a contract awarded to him by JAMB for the provision of internet services.
To carry out the fraud, he gave the forged documents to a friend, K. Ola Al-Amin, a customer of the microfinance bank, to present to the bank in Al-Amin’s name.
Deceived by Oguntade, Al-Amin secured the loan using the forged documents and also helped him transfer the sum to three different companies’ bank accounts: Reeden Investment Limited, Danmarg Multiventures Company, and Enrich System Nigeria Limited. Oguntade had claimed these were payments to the companies for equipment and installations for the purported internet services.
However, investigations revealed that Oguntade had previously issued forged LPOs to these companies and had defrauded Polybadan Microfinance Bank of N10 million to repay the loans he had fraudulently obtained from them.
