Folaranmi Oyebamiji
By Our Reporter
Except he approaches a higher court to upturn the verdict of a Magistrate Court, a former member of the House of Representatives, Dr. Folaranmi Oyebamiji, from Ogbomoso South is currently an ex-convict.
This is because he has been convicted and sentenced to one year and four months imprisonment by Oyo State Chief Magistrate Court for forgery and threat to murder one High Chief Solomon Ojedayo.
The judgment was delivered by Chief Magistrate Muideen Salami in a case marked MOG/190c/2021 which was instituted against the former National Assembly member by the Oyo State Police Command.
Dr Oyebamiji was, however, granted a fine of N500,000 in lieu of the sentence.
While delivering the judgment which lasted 90minutes, Oyebamiji was sentenced to six months on count one which borders on conspiracy with an option of N150,000 fine; three months for false publication/defamation with a fine of N150,000; six months for forgery with option of fine worth N100,000; and one month for threatening to murder. The sentence was to run concurrently.
The convict was arraigned in 2021 by the Oyo State Police Command with a 94-year old Oko Town chief, Mathew Wojuade Ademola, and five others.
Mr M.A. Ojei, held brief for Commissioner of Police, while Dr. Olutayo Oyewale stood in for the complainant and Prince Niran Oyekale represented the defendants.
After the prosecution had invited five witnesses against the defendants, the six other defendants except Oyebamji informed the court on December 22, 2023 through their counsel that they had deposed to separate affidavits in Ibadan High Court Registry in which they had settled with the complainant. Their names were then struck out remaining only the ex NASS member.
After the submission of written addresses by both counsel, the court found Oyebamji guilty of all the three counts despite his defence that he was on admission at the UCH, Ibadan on 17th December, 2019 and discharged on January 18, 2020.
The court did not grant his defence describing it as an after-thought. The court said, “The accused person only tendered his photograph with crutches, neck girdle, without vehicle inspection report of the accident. There was no photo of the accidental vehicle to support his defence. The alibi according to decided authorities must have been promptly and lucidly disclosed to the police during investigation. It is the considered opinion of this court that the alibi is an after-thought which cannot avail the accused person”.
The Chief Magistrate Salami held that “the evidence, both oral and written, weighed against the defendant. So, the prosecution had manifestly proved its case against the defendant. The 7th accused person is therefore found guilty and is accordingly convicted”.
The defendant’s counsel pleaded for leniency, saying “I apply to the magnanimity of the court to temper justice with mercy. All along the proceedings, the convict had suffered greatly by having to be remanded in police custody. He is a family man whose dependents will suffer greatly if he is thrown into the Correctional Centre. He has children still schooling, and he is a political figure. I shall be praying the court to award an option of fine as there is no record of his being a convict before”.
He was later sentenced to sixteen months imprisonment with an option of N500,000.
