Nollywood Filmmaker Seun Egbegbe Spends 20 Months In Jail Over Inability To Meet N5Million Bail

Nollywood Filmmaker Seun Egbegbe Spends 20 Months In Prison Custody Over Inability To Meet N5Million Bail 

By Jayne Augoye, Premium Times

Controversial filmmaker Olajide Kazeem, aka, Seun Egbegbe, has spent 20 months in prison custody unable to meet the N5m bail granted him by the Federal High Court in Lagos.

The case, which was last heard on Thursday, is billed to resume on Monday (today) for continuation of trial.

The erstwhile Lagos socialist, known for his lavish lifestyle, has been incarcerated since February 10, 2017.

That was after he was arraigned by the police for alleged fraud involving N39, 098,100; $90,000 and £12,550.

The police alleged that Mr Egbegbe, a controversial figure in the Yoruba film industry, fraudulently obtained the money from no fewer than 40 Bureau De Change operators in Lagos over a period of two years – 2015 to 2017.

He was said to have allegedly swindled the BDC operators by falsely representing to them that he had naira to change into foreign currencies and vice versa.

On March 10, 2017, over 30 BDC operators stormed the court for the trial.

The film-maker alongside his accomplice, Oyekan Ayomide, was arraigned before Justice Oluremi Oguntoyinbo for 36 counts bordering on advance fee fraud.

The charge sheet was subsequently amended twice, with the counts eventually increased to 40.
Three other defendants Lawals Kareem, Olalekan Yusuf and Muyideen Shoyombo were also added to the case.

At other times, the case was stalled because the Hausa BDC operators, who were listed as witnesses, complained of their inability to either speak or understand English language and an interpreter had to be arranged.

The trial was also sometimes slowed down due to the inability of the investigating police officers, who were listed as witnesses, to attend the court proceedings.

The police prosecutor, Innocent Anyigor, had told the court that he had no fewer than 40 witnesses, including the BDC operators, who would testify against Mr Egbegbe and his co-defendants in court.

So far, the prosecution has called four witnesses.

Mr Egbegbe’s publicised affair with Nollywood actress, Toyin Aimakhu, a few years ago shot him into limelight.

The relationship, however, ended in a controversial manner.