Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe of an Ikeja Special Offences Court yesterday issued a bench warrant for the arrest of a defendant, Toyosi Ayodele, over alleged N600million and $50,000 agribusiness investment fraud
Justice Abike-Fadipe issued the bench warrant following the controversies surrounding the medical report submitted by his counsel and the absence of the defendant in court.
Ayodele is standing trial alongside his companies, Reaprite Global Limited and Agrorite Limited on an 11-count charge bordering on obtaining money under false pretences and stealing, brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The trial judge ruled that the medical report submitted by Ayodele’s counsel, Mr Chukwuemeka Maduagwu, purportedly from University Teaching Hospital (UCH) Ibadan, did not have the stamp of the hospital.
She said, according to the report, the first defendant was brought to the emergency unit of the hospital on an emergency referral from Reddington Hospital, Lagos.
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“I have examined exhibit A, which appears to be a letter from the Accident and Emergency Department of the University College Hospital in Ibadan dated May 20, 2025.
“It states that the first defendant was brought to the emergency unit on an emergency referral from Reddington Hospital with medical histories of extreme high blood pressure, and that he had been admitted and was under treatment and observation.
“The alleged report which is said to have emanated from UCH, a prestigious and famous institution of medicine in this country, the part of the body that is under high pressure was not mentioned.