The Nigerian police have released Mr. Ayodeji Adebayo, the publisher of Daily Metro News NG, an online newspaper.
Nigeriancablenewsonline reported how he was arrested for allegedly publishing a story exposing the fraudulent activities of a House of Representatives candidate for Ekiti North Federal Constituency (II) on the All Progressives Congress (APC) platform, Akinlayo Davidson Kolawole.
Confirming his release on Friday, Mr. Ayodeji Adebayo said, he was freed from the police detention facility at Alagbon, Lagos state on Wednesday, afternoon six days in detention.
The journalist was arrested on Friday in Abuja by a team of armed policemen over the publication of a story about how Kolawole allegedly swindled an oil magnate, Johnson Akinnawonu, who is also a director in JAAC Nig. Ltd. to the tune of N3 billion.
Upon his arrest, he was taken to Wuse Zone 3 police station where he was detained and later handed over to another team of policemen who came from Alagbon in Lagos.
Ayodeji was also threatened and forced to pull down the story from the site before his arrest.
It was gathered that Akinlayo, a 45-year-old Akure-based real estate agent and his lawyer, one Rotimi Olorunfemi, the chairman of the Akure branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) allegedly defrauded a Port Harcourt-based oil magnate, Akinnawonu and JAAC Nig. Ltd to the tune of 3 billion on the pretext of helping him to acquire a property in the Gwarinpa area of Abuja but failed to deliver.
A petition dated March 15, 2022, addressed to the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) by Johnson’s lawyer, Barr. Adejumola Ajayi and obtained by SaharaReporters is titled “Criminal Conversion and Obtaining of N1.9billion Under False Pretence.”
The petition read in part, “That sometime between 2013 and 2015 the duo of Messrs. Akinlayo Davidson Kolawole and Rotimi Olorunfemi (a purported estate Manager and his Solicitor) with their office address at Akure made representation to our clients to procure some real estate property for them at Abuja and Lagos.
“Property tagged Tantalizer building at Aminu Kano Crescent, off Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent Wuse 11 Abuja.
“Property tagged multiple three (3) storey building of former Federal government guest houses covering about 10,000 Square metres of land at Ahmadu Bello Way in Lagos.
“Property formerly occupied by NEPA at Kings Way Road Lagos on about 4000 square metres of land which sales obtained from our clients amounted to N1,860,000,000 (One billion, Eight Hundred and Sixty Million Naira).
“That within same period Akinlayo Davidson Kolawole obtained an additional sum of N46,000,000 (Forty-Six Million Naira) from our clients to convert their Opebi residential building to commercial building and as well collected rent of N10,400,000 (Ten Million and Four Hundred Thousand Naira) rent from our client’s tenants occupying their property at Plot 176 Herbert Macauley Road without performance and account.”
It was also gathered that Akinnawonu, who doubles as a director in JAAC Nig. Ltd. is now in critical health condition and has been flown to Canada following the shock and trauma he had suffered.
It was also gathered that Olorunfemi has since confessed to the crime while Kolawole through his lawyer had agreed in a letter addressed to Akinnawonu to refund the sum of N830, 000, 000 (Eight Hundred and Thirty Million Naira) before June 30, 2022.
But Akinlayo refused to honour the agreement and pay up and has since then evaded arrest by the EFCC and the Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (FCID), Alagbon, Lagos who have since launched a manhunt for him.
Efforts to reach Akinlayo for a reaction to the allegations were unsuccessful.