The police in Ekiti State yesterday arraigned three men- Temitope Bamidele, Sunday Afolabi and Shuaibu Amidu- at the Magistrates’ Court in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, for alleged stealing.
Bamidele and Afolabi are domestic aides of Governor Ayo Fayose.
The men were arraigned for the alleged theft of $50,000 purportedly belonging to Fayose’s personal assistant Sunday Omosilade.
The theft reportedly took place in the Government House on December 29.
In a two-count charge of stealing and conspiracy, the police said on December 29, Bamidele and Afolabi conspired to steal $50,000 in the Government House “belonging to Omosilade”.
In the second count, Amidu, a street foreign exchange operator, was charged as “an accessory when you changed $20,000 stolen money to naira for Afolabi”.
The accused pleaded not guilty. Their counsel, Busuyi Ayorinde, applied for bail but the court told him to formalise his application.
The Chief Magistrate, Adesoji Adegboye, ordered the trio to be remanded in prison custody till Monday, when their bail application will be heard.
Unconfirmed reports said a woman suspected to have links with a senior Government House official allegedly stole N75 million from the Government House.
The allegation has been denied by the governor’s Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka.
Olayinka accused All Progressives Congress (APC) members of fabricating the story to discredit the governor.
A source said: “Despite denials by government officials that the mistress did not steal N75million, we can tell you that some domestic staff in the Government House, including a steward, cook and gardener, are in police custody.
“The governor’s personal assistant on Domestic Matters, Sunday Omosilade, was demoted over the matter.
“The Afao-born PA narrowly escaped being sacked. He was redeployed to the office of the wife of the governor as a lesser officer.
“With this, more facts have emerged about the stolen N75 million. The money was actually in British Pound Sterling.
“The total amount was £1,100,000. Of this amount, £150,000 equivalent of N90 million was stolen by the woman together with a steward,cook and gardener.
“Of this amount, the woman made away with £125,000 equivalent of N75 million, leaving the balance of £25,000 for the steward, gardener and others to share amounting to N15,000,000.
“It was part of this £25,000 that was later found, hidden in a flower bed in the garden of the chalet where she stayed.
“It was the steward who was caught at a bureau de change where he was trying to change his own share to naira.
“When he was nabbed, the steward took security operatives to where the balance was kept.
“He also mentioned all those involved in the deal who are in police custody.
“The young lady in question has reportedly relocated.”
“The senior Government House official ordered her house and those of her parents to be vandalised by thugs.
“The poor parents said they don’t know the whereabouts of their daughter and that the last they heard about her through her friends was that she had relocated outside the country.”
