Lagos State Police recently brought two men and two women before a Badagry Chief Magistrates’ Court on fraud charges. The accused, Zainab Abdullahi (26), Olanrewaju Mariam (25), Sulaimon Abdulatif (24), and Yehuza Jubril (23), all without fixed addresses, faced three charges: felony, stealing, and fraud.

The four defendants pleaded not guilty. The prosecutor, Inspector Edet Ekpo, stated that the group committed the crimes between January and July at a Low-Cost Housing Estate in Badagry, Lagos. They allegedly conspired to obtain money under false pretenses, taking N1,600,000 from Abdul-Salam Idris by promising to get him into Manchester City Football Club in England. However, they had no connection to any football club and kept the money for themselves.

These actions violate Sections 411, 314, and 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015. Chief Magistrate N.A. Layeni granted each defendant bail at N1 million, with two sureties each. The sureties must be company directors and deposit N25,000 to the Chief Registrar of the court. The hearing is set for August 15.