Oyo State Chief Magistrate’s Court sitting in Ogbomoso, has sentenced a former member of the House of Representatives, Dr. Folaranmi Oyebamiji, to one year and four months in prison for conspiracy, false publication, forgery, threat to murder an Oko High Chief and his family, as well as conduct likely to cause breach of peace.
Chief Magistrate Muideen Salami, who delivered the judgement on Thursday, however, gave Oyebamiji a N500,000 fine option.
Chief Magistrate Salami sentenced the convict to six months on conspiracy with an option of N150,000; three months for false publication/defamation with an option of N150,000 fine; six months for forgery with an option of N100,000 fine; and one month for threat to murder with a fine of N100,000.
The sentence was to run concurrently, according to the Chief Magistrate.
Doctor Oyebamiji, who represented Surulere /Ogo-Oluwa Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, was arraigned in 2021 by the Oyo State Police Command alongside a 94-year old Oko traditional title holder, Mathew Wojuade Ademola, and five others.
The others are Wojuade Gbemiga, Wojuade Philip, Bello Semiu Opeyemi, Eyolade Joshua Adewumi, and Adeniyi Idowu.
They were charged with alleged conspiracy to murder High Chief Solomon Ojedayo in Oko town, a suburb of Ogbomoso.
While the prosecutor, Mr M.A. Ojei, represented the Commissioner of Police, Dr. Olutayo Oyewale was the counsel to the complainant, while Prince Niran Oyekale represented the defendants.
After the prosecution had called five witnesses against the defendants, the six other defendants except Oyebamji informed the court on December 22, 2023 through Oyewale, that they had deposed to separate affidavits in Ibadan High Court Registry in which they had settled with the complainant, High Chief Ojedayo.
Their names were subsequently struck out from the suit, leaving Oyebamji to open his defence to the allegation brought against him.
The convict had given an alibi during trial that at the material time he was said to have committed the offences, he was involved in an accident and was admitted at the UCH, Ibadan on December 17, 2019 and discharged on January 18, 2020 before returning to Oko on the June 27, 2020.
He, however, said that he did not disclose this information to the Police in Ibadan and Zone 11 Command, Osogbo, because he was not asked such question.
In his final judgement, the Chief Magistrate sentenced the former parliamentarian to sixteen months imprisonment with an option of N500,000.
The convict was subsequently taken to Abolongo Correctional Centre in Oyo town, pending when he could settle the awarded option of fine.
