Honourable Justice M. A. Dada (Mrs.) of the Lagos State Special Offences Court sitting at Ikeja has shown leniency on Funmilayo Temitope Kadaolu charged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for the offences of Conspiracy to Steal and Stealing.
Funmilayo, who was arraigned alongside one Sodipo Olusegun, was charged with two count offences of conspiracy to steal and stealing. On Friday, 29th September, 2023, Justice Dada discharged Funmilayo of the offence of Stealing and gave her an option of paying the sum of N250,000 in the place of serving a jail term of three years for the offence of Conspiracy to Steal.
The Prosecution had alleged that Funmilayo and Sodipo Segun conspired between each other to steal the sum of ₦5,845,551 (Five Million, Eight Hundred and Forty-Five Thousand, Five Hundred and Fifty-One Naira) which belonged to Fidelity Bank Plc, and in fact did actually steal the said sum.
Funmilayo was discharged of the offence of Stealing on the sole ground that the Statement of Account presented by the Prosecution as evidence of the amount stolen was not certified. Justice Dada discountenanced the Statement of Account and held that the offence of Stealing had not been proven.
Although the Learned Trial Judge found Funmilayo and Sodipo Segun liable for the offence of Conspiracy to Steal, in a passionate allocutus made by Funmilayo’s lead counsel from the Law Firm of DNL Partners, Qudus Mumuney, Justice Dada granted Funmilayo leniency with an option of paying fine of N250,000 in the place of a three year jail term.
In his allocutus, Qudus Mumuney had passionately pleaded with the Learned Trial Judge that Funmilayo was a victim of circumstance. Her co-defendant, Sodipo Olusegun had under cross examination testified that Funmilayo only agreed to open the accounts wherein the alleged stolen funds were pain into on the assumption that he (Sodipo Olusegun) was going to use the account to help her business expansion. Qudus Mumuney called the attention of the Judge to the presence of Funmilayo’s aged father, who was present in court, and the fact that not only is Funmilayo indigent, the present charge had further impoverished the family.
Qudus Mumuney informed the court that the charge was handled by the law firm of DNL Partners pro bono and on various occasions, the transportation of Funmilayo from Abeokuta to Lagos on adjourned dates had been borne by the firm.