June 20, (THEWILL)- Last week, on air personality, Stephanie Coker and her property developer husband, Olumide Aderinokun, received the traditional titles of Akinmuyiwa and Yeye Akinmuyiwa of Owu Kingdom, respectively. The couple was presented with a staff of office each by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is himself the Balogun of Owu Kingdom.
While congratulatory messages have continued to pour in for Stephanie and her husband, who is a sibling of late Tayo Aderinokun, one of the founders of Guaranty Trust Bank, not a few people have openly criticised the traditional institution in Nigeria for bestowing people of questionable character with chieftaincy titles.
To quickly refresh your memory, in 2017, barely five months after he got married in a lavish ceremony that took place on the Greek Island of Mykonos, Olumide Aderinokun was arrested and detained at the Kirikiri Maximum Security Prison on charges of fraud and conspiracy. He was later arraigned by the Lagos State Government on an eight-count charge before an Igbosere Magistrate Court alongside Balogun Adeniyi Abdul-Wakil, a staff of the New Town Development Authority (NTDA), for conspiracy, forgery and fraudulent sale of a piece land at Lekki Peninsula.
In one of the charges against him, Aderinokun allegedly converted a piece of land situated at Plot 7B, Block CBD.1, Lekki Peninsula Scheme 1, Eti Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State, property of Ocean Trust Limited to his personal use. Meanwhile, the land originally belonged to Mr and Mrs Ben Oyekunle. In another charge, Aderinokun, Abdul-Wakil, and others allegedly forged a Deed of Assignment document and submitted it for registration at the Lagos State Land Registry, Alausa, Ikeja around March 3, 2012.
Also, sometime around February 2016, Aderinokun allegedly connived with some people to collect the sum of N18 million from one Mrs Jumoke Fola-Alade, claiming to be the owner of the property. The entire case was later adjourned till February of 2018 for trial, after Aderinokun and Abdul Wakil were both granted bail in the sum of N10 million each and the provision of two responsible sureties, one of who must be a civil servant not below grade level 16 in the State Public Service with an approval of the Head of Service to stand as surety. However, since then, nothing has been heard of the case.
We wonder if the case died a natural death through some form of inducement as Aderinokun was never reported to be acquitted of the charges against him. With a chieftaincy title already on his resume, we reliably gathered, he is already eyeing politics and may attempt to vie for a seat in the National Assembly to represent Ogun Central Senatorial District.
About the Author
