An Ondo State High Court sitting in Akure has reserved ruling in a case of N2.4m corruption charges against a former Ondo Speaker, Hon Bamidele Oloyelogun.
Other charged with the former Speaker were a former lawmaker, Felemu-Gudu Bankole and a civil servant, Segun Oyadeyi.
They were arraigned on a two-count charge of corruption and conferring undue advantages on themselves
The defendants were accused of misappropriating N2.4m in 2019.
They were alleged to have collected the money to attend a seminar in Lagos State but did not attend.
In the suit filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) the lawmakers requested for funds to be released for four members of the Committee on Tertiary Education to attend the seminar scheduled for December 11-12, 2019.
The four members to attend the seminar were former Clerk, the Deputy Speaker, Hon Ogundeji Iroju, the Chairman of the House Committee on Tertiary Education and two members of the committee.
The suit said the seminar was not organised while the money released by tge Ministry of Finance, amounting to N2.4 million allegedly disappeared into private pockets.
In a preliminary objections through their counsel, Mr Femi Emodamori, the defendants urged the Court to decline jurisdiction because the charge was not in compliance with the process of the law.
Emodamori said there was nothing to prove the charges against the defendants saying there was no evidence to prove the money was spent as alleged by the EFCC.
But counsel to the EFCC, Mr TY Bello urged the court to convict and sentence the defendants on all the counts as the prosecution has proved his case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Bello said: “We maintain that the evidence before the court and the exhibit proved the charges beyond reasonable doubt. The charge is about conferring undue advantages to themselves.
“The money was released and they kept the money. If there was no petition, they would have spent the money. They kept the money in cash. They refunded the money in cash. The argument is about conferring undue advantages on themselves.’
Presoding Judge, Justice Adegboyega Adebusoye, who spoke after adoption of written addresses by Counsel, said the date of the judgment would be communicated to the parties before the end of the year.