By Wahab Akinlade
A self-professed Chief of Army Staff, Bolarinwa Abiodun, has opened his defence before Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos.
Bolarinwa was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a 13-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence, forgery of documents, and possession of documents containing false pretence to the tune of N266,500,000.
He was first arraigned on April 11, 2022 and he pleaded “not guilty” to all the charges.
The prosecution had on June 16, 2022 closed its case. After which the defence applied to the court for the recall of the prosecution’s first witness, Bamidele Safiriyu, who is also the complainant.
At today’s proceeding, the prosecution presented the first witness as requested for by the defence counsel, Otunba Ogunleye, who sought to point out contradiction in the statement made to the EFCC by the first prosecution witness, Bamidele Safiriyu, with regards to the date he first met the defendant.
The defence sought to tender the statement and it was admitted in evidence as Exhibit X.
Under cross-examination, the witness, told the court that he got to know the defendant in 2017.
He testified further that Bolarinwa told him that he will not be using the number to call him, claiming that the number was being tracked by the Nigerian Army, and former President Olusegun Obasanjo who he claimed was his father.
He also stated that the defendant claimed that he has another number that he will be using to call him from time to time.
Thereafter the case was adjourned till June 28, 2022 for continuation of defence.
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