There is outrage in Osun State, Nigeria, following the prolonged incarceration of a banker, Mrs. Awanat Ajayi, who is currently being held at the Ilesa Correctional Facility.
The spokesperson of Osun Police Command, Yemisi Opalola, recently disclosed the arrest of Talabi Adeniyi, a First Bank manager, over a N650 million fraud scheme related to the Proof of Fund (POF). Ajayi, who is one of the bankers working under Talabi, allegedly collected money for POF from interested members of the public, including a Magistrate.
However, the business deal went awry when Talabi allegedly lost N650 million during the transaction. As a result, Ajayi was arraigned before an Osun State Magistrate’s Court, presided over by Olusegun Ayilara, for collecting a sum of N10 million from Magistrate Oyindamola Daramola.
Ajayi was subsequently remanded in custody, despite an oral bail application by her lawyer, who argued that the offense was a bailable one and highlighted that Ajayi, who is heavily pregnant, had only a few weeks until delivery and suffers from Hepatitis B.
In August, Magistrate Ayilara granted her stringent bail conditions, noting, “A monarch and a level 14 officer should be her surety, with a deposit of N5 million before she can be released.”
During a court sitting on Wednesday, Ajayi’s counsel informed the court that she had delivered a baby via Cesarean section. However, Magistrate Ayilara responded to her husband, stating, “Your wife’s bail condition has not been perfected; delivery is not a technical reason for discharge. This is the law, and even I do not have the power over it; only a higher court can say otherwise.”
The situation has sparked anger and calls for the review of Ajayi’s bail conditions, especially considering her health and recent childbirth in prison.
