A 49-year-old legal practitioner, Olusegun Agunloye on Thursday docked before a Chief Magistrates' Court sitting in Akure over allegedly forging a dead man’s will.
Agunloye was said to have presented a fake testamentary instrument (Will) of one Late Benjamin Chibuzor Ejelonu to the court probate registry in Akure.
The Hope Metro reports that the lawyer, whose office is at Sunshine Law Pavillion K/27 Opposite Oba's Palace Arigidi Akoko, was arraigned by the police on a two-count charge of conspiracy and forgery.
Police prosecutor, Nelson Akintimehin told the court that the defendant committed the offence on September 7, 2023, at about 10:30 am at the probate registry, High Court in Akure.
Akintimehin said the defendant conspired with a 72-year-old sister of the deceased, one Aminat Ijeoma Bakare, presently facing trial in charge number: MAK/372C/2024 in the same court to forge the will of the deceased, and lodged it at the Probate Registry of the State High Court in Akure with the intent to defraud one Oluwamodupe Ejelonu without her consent.
The offence contravened Sections 516 and 467(2)(f) of the Criminal Code Law of Ondo state, 2006, but the defendant pleaded not guilty to both counts.
The prosecutor prayed the court for an adjournment to enable him to assemble his witnesses and as well consolidate the two charges before the court.
Defence counsel, Kehinde Osadugbe urged the court to grant his client's bail in self-recognizance as a practising lawyer. He claimed that the alleged offence was committed in the cause of the defendant performing his legal duty as a lawyer.
While objecting to the defense lawyer’s application, the prosecutor noted that the defendant was at flight risk of being granted bail and that he had earlier abused the administrative bail given to him at the police station on self-recognizance.
Magistrate Kolawole Aro granted the defendant bail in the sum of N2,000,000 with two sureties in like sum.
The magistrate adjourned the case till September 26 for hearing and other consolidation of the cases.
The defendant who could not perfect his bail was hereby remanded at the police station.
Source: The Hope
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