Oladipo Jimoh and his company, Barma Energy, were charged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Tuesday for allegedly stealing $60,334.59 that belonged to Vale Blue Limited.
Jimoh was charged with two counts of theft before Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offenses Court in Ikeja, Lagos.
This was revealed by the EFCC in a statement that was posted on its X (formerly Twitter) page on Wednesday.
Jimoh was accused by the prosecutor, G.C. Akaogu, of dishonestly converting two properties owned by Vale Blue Limited for his own use.
The count stated as follows: “Oladipo Bankole Jimoh and Barma Energy Resources Limited, within the Ikeja Judicial Division of Lagos, sometime between October 11, 2022, and July 20, 2023, dishonestly converted to your own use the sum of $47,534.59, property of Vale Blue Limited.”
“Sometime between October 11, 2022, and July 20, 2023, in Lagos, within the Ikeja Judicial Division, Oladipo Bankole Jimoh and Barma Energy Resources Limited dishonestly converted the sum of $12,800, property of Vale Blue Limited, to your own use.”
After the defendant entered a not guilty plea to the offenses, Judge Dada granted him bail in the amount of N200 million, accompanied by two sureties in the same amount.
In part, the statement said, “G.C. Akaogu, the prosecution’s attorney, prayed for a trial date so the prosecution could prove its case against the defendants after the defendant entered a plea. We also pray that the defendant be remanded at a Correctional Center.”
A.K. Akpabio, the defense attorney, did, however, notify the court about the bail request made on her clients’ behalf.
“We ask that the defendant be held in the custody of the EFCC until the bail is finalized,” she stated.
“Justice Dada granted the defendant a bail of N200 million, accompanied by two sureties in an equivalent amount. Each of the sureties needs to have a valued piece of land or N100 million in their account, and they must be engaged in a gainful capacity.
“The defendant shall be remanded at the Correctional Center pending the perfection of his bail,” Justice Dada ruled.
The judge then declared that the defendant will be temporarily placed in the custody of the EFCC “because there are no correctional officers in court today for security reasons.”
“The start of the trial was postponed until February 12, 2024.”