Whistleblower Who Exposed Multi-Billion Naira Fraud In Lagos Council Remains In Prison Six Days After Meeting Bail Conditions
He was picked by policemen from Zone 2 in Lagos on the order of the council boss around 9pm on Tuesday.
The police last Thursday arraigned him before the court on the allegation of theft and being in possession of classified documents.
At the court session, Chief Magistrate, Olanrewaju Olatunji, granted Oyebanjo N5million bail with two sureties.
One of the sureties must provide a C of O certificate while the other must have at least N5 million in his account.
However, SaharaReporters learnt that the whistleblower remains remanded in Ikoyi prison despite meeting his bail conditions “as the Chief Magistrate refused to sign his documents”
“The magistrate refused to sign the bail documents on Friday, citing that the court had closed for the day. This was despite the documents being presented just minutes after 3 pm,” a source told SaharaReporters.
“The magistrate had stipulated stringent bail conditions, requiring the whistleblower to present two sureties. One of the sureties must be a landed property owner with a Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) in Lagos, while the other must have a minimum of five million naira in his bank account.
“Despite meeting these conditions, the whistleblower remains in custody due to the magistrate’s unavailability. Further inquiries revealed that the magistrate does not attend court on Mondays and Tuesdays.
“The brother’s attempt to secure the whistleblower’s release at the Tinubu Magistrate Court on Monday was unsuccessful, as he was informed that the magistrate was unavailable and would not be present on Tuesday either.”
This development raises concerns about the fairness and efficiency of the judicial process, as well as the potential for abuse of power.
Oyebanjo had petitioned the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) over alleged misappropriation of billions of naira by Ogunlewe and some supervisors in the council.
After the petition, the council boss and other officials were invited and grilled for several hours at ICPC office located at 10, Okotie Eboh, Ikoyi, Lagos State.
Oyebanjo while speaking to SaharaReporters before his arrest alleged the officials were involved in corruption, embezzlement, and contract inflation running into billions of naira.
“Yes, their invitation and subsequent interrogation for hours followed a petition I submitted to the anti-corruption agency on October 23, 2024 with copies of classified documents of the local government in my possession.
“I had in a petition titled: “PETITION AGAINST BARR. MOYOSORE ADEDOYIN OGUNLEWE, THE EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, KOSOFE LOCAL GOVERNMENT (AKA) THE WHITE LION AND OTHER LOCAL GOVERNMENT CO TRAVELLERS OVER CORRUPTION, CRIMINAL BREACH OF TRUST, UNLAWFUL ENRICHMENT, INFLATION OF CONTRACTS, MISAPPROPRIATION OF PUBLIC FUNDS, FORGERY, MANIPULATION, DISTORTION AND DOCTORING OF EXCO MINUTES, AND THREAT TO LIFE”, levelled allegation against the executive chairman of Kosofe Local Government for awarding contracts without following due process, illegal self-enrichment and acquiring multiple properties few years after becoming the chairman of the council.
“I urged the anti-graft Commission to demand from the Code of Conduct Bureau the Assets Declaration Forms, which the Chairman filled out before he became the Council Chairman and the Assets he has presently acquired.
“And as part of its investigation, the ICPC invited me to its Lagos office on February 25, 2025 where I was interrogated, wrote a statement and provided additional information.
“Two days after my visit to the ICPC Lagos office, Moyosore Ogunlewe and the Secretary to the Local Government, Fatai Gbadebo, were invited and quizzed by the ICPC over the corruption allegations.
“While I want to believe that the ICPC has not concluded its investigation into the allegation of corruption I levelled against the council chairman, the members of executive committee who to the best of knowledge had been invited by the ICPC to appear before it have, however, not honoured the invitation and are yet to be interrogated.
“The executive members are key witnesses in the malfeasance perpetrated by the council chairman and their interrogation by the ICPC will go a long away in giving it a clearer picture of the allegation.
“I, however, reliably gathered that the executive chairman, after returning from the ICPC office in Lagos, has been making frantic efforts to block the invitation of the executive members and council’s staff and also promised to give each of them a huge amount of money to give false accounts.”
