Law News
Bamaiyi: Court Registrar opens defence, denies allegation

A former court registrar, Mrs Ronke Rosulu accused of defrauding former Chief of Army Staff, General Ishaya Bamayi,(retd) to the tune of $330,000 while he was detained at Kirikiri Prison yesterday denied the allegations before  the court.

Rosulu who was a court registrar with Justice Joseph Oyewole denied all the allegations against her by the Exconomic and Financial Crimes Commisiion, EFCC, in her defence before Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo of an Ikeja High Court.

It would be recalled that Bamaiyi had in his testimony before the court alleged that Rosulu aided Fred Ajudua, in defrauding him of $330,000, on the account that the money  was meant for a part payment for professional fees charged by Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) to handle his trial for attempted murder of the publisher of The Guardian, newspaper, Mr. Alex Ibru and two others.
Led in evidence by her counsel, Mr. Bamidele Ogundele, Rosulu told the court about her working career with the judiciary in 1981 and how she survived financially by selling wares to augment her salary.

She told the court that she was working in Justice Oyewole’s court while Bamaiyi was standing trial in the same court, adding that she only knew the complainant (Bamaiyi) when he was standing trial.

She disclosed, “I was the Senior Registrar in that court before I was posted out sometime in March 2006 and that was the last time I saw Bamaiyi until I was invited to EFCC’s office in 2013.

“I never met ACP Abdullahi Garba before. I don’t know Fred Ajudua personally but I knew him as an accused standing trial. I did not collect money from anybody and I don’t know Chief Afe Babalola one on one and I never work in his chambers”, she said.

On the allegation that she visited the prison three times in her effort to get the money, Rosulu denied ever visiting the prison in her life.

“I was surprised on December 19, 2013 when Bamaiyi confronted me at EFCC’s office that he gave me money for Chief Afe Babalola and for Justice Oyewole.

“In the same room at EFCC’s office, ACP Garba was brought in and he introduced himself to me and confronted me that I came to Kirikiri and that he saw me with a jute bag, but I told him there that I didn’t   know him. Both Garba and Bamaiyi were speaking Hausa language.”

On her ordeal she told the court that she was detained for 18 days at the EFCC office where her statement was taken.

Rosulu further told the court that the EFCC officials went to her house, searched and took her cheque book, phones and receipt of the land she paid for in instalments.

Under cross examination by the anti graft counsel, Mr. Seidu Atteh, the defendant maintained that she never met Bamaiyi before he was docked in Oyewole’s court.

She noted that she was not the only Registrar in the court, adding that there were two Registrars, adding that she did not use to work on Saturdays and that she never worked in Chief Afe Babalola’s Chambers.

 

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