A business consultant, Mr Olusegun Durodola on Tuesday told a Lagos State High Court, in Ikeja, how his old schoolmate, who is a former employee of Punch Nigeria Ltd, Olusegun Ogunbanjo, allegedly exploited false representations and used the media house to defraud their old school students association of a multi-million naira investment.
Durodola, the second prosecution witness, who was led in evidence in chief by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Dr. Babajide Martins, told the trial judge, Justice Ismail Ijelu, that he had known the defendant for over 39 years and that they went to the same school.
Ogunbanjo was arraigned on June 21, 2024, on eight counts bordering on conspiracy to commit a felony, obtaining money under false pretences, stealing, and forgery.
He was accused of fraudulently obtaining the sum of N998m from his victims under pretence of stationery supplies.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Olawunmi Ogunbanjo, Vaneloo International Ltd, Valeco Global Ventures, Bagco Garba, Taofeek Ogunbanjo, Ifeanyi Odogwu, Bound Media Ltd, and Godwin Benson are also defendants in the case marked ID/21559C/2023, and others who are still at large.
The witness narrated how Ogunbanjo allegedly committed the fraud.
He told the court that the defendant claimed that he had the management’s approval to build in-house staff accommodation at Punch Nigeria’s head office following a staff member’s death.
“Ogunbanjo falsely represented that Local Purchase Orders were issued by Punch which he submitted to the police at Panti during investigations.
“He later confessed at Panti that there was no legitimate business and that all the LPOs he issued over the years were forged.
“He admitted to using the money to build houses and buy cars,” he said.
The witness also revealed that Ogunbanjo claimed to have become the Managing Director of Punch Nigeria Limited and presented forged documents to support his claim.
Durodola said “The defendant is a friend and a close ally of my family but he falsely came and lied that he was the MD of Punch and that the previous one had been sacked.
“He told me that based on my experience, Punch would give me a job and that I should send my resume. He sent me an email from one Mrs Angela Onwunuor. I didn’t know that he was the one impersonating Punch.
“He even told me the Chairman of Punch had reviewed my CV and that I was being considered for the position of Director of Strategy. I received a fake email purportedly from the chairman offering me the job.
“I trusted him as an old schoolmate and I initially invested N5m, into his venture with the promise of profit-sharing only to discover later that the funds had been misappropriated.”
Durodola further told the court that he was not the only one from whom Ogunbanjo allegedly collected money.
“He collected N500m and 50,000 US dollars from Mr Olushola Ikuyajesin.
“Ikuyajesin had to fly down to Nigeria to investigate when Ogunbanjo started giving excuses only to discover that he had been deceiving us.
“After he was arrested, we discovered that he had been living his life with all this money, and the newspaper even placed a disclaimer on him twice.
“He sent his wife to go and give birth abroad and he started driving Mercedez Benz 500 Bentley which he said Punch gave him as an official car,” he said.
The witness said the effect of the alleged fraud made him lose his job as a managing director of a popular communication company.
He added that he brought an auditor to Panti who audited the defendant’s account and discovered he had collected a total sum of N1.89bn from them.
During cross-examination by the defence counsel, Ms M.A. Abia-Bassey, the witness told the court that Ogunbanjo had consistently misrepresented facts and diverted funds meant for purported Punch contracts into his account.
He further alleged that Ogunbanjo used investors’ money to fund personal expenses, including overseas travel for childbirth and acquiring properties, some of which were later sold without disclosure.
The case which began in June 2024, has suffered setbacks, including the recent death of the defendant’s former counsel, Mr. T.E. Okeke, in a car accident.
At a previous hearing, Ogunbanjo’s new counsel, Abia-Bassey, sought an adjournment to familiarise herself with the case and allow the defendant, who was reportedly unwell, to attend to his health.
Justice Ijelu adjourned the case until February 11, 2025, for continuation of trial.
