The complainant had claimed that he bought a plot of land at Isheri North residential scheme in 2006 through Ogiamien, who is also a real estate agent, adding that when he discovered that the land was waterlogged, he asked for a refund of his money but that Ogiamien refused to pay back the money. Ogiamien, during the trial had told the court that he was already repaying the money, stating that the land was affected by flood water, which was not the case when he sold the land. Recalling the transaction, he said: “At the point of the transaction, there was no water on the land. But the land was later flooded with water from Ogun River. “Because of the water, Tobias said he was no longer interested in the land. He asked for a refund. We took the matter to the then Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Frank Mba. “Mba said I should refund Tobias the money. Based on the agreement, I started refunding the N2million. I had paid him N1million in cash. It was collected on his behalf by PPRO, and he was remitting the money to Tobias. “Maybe because he was a police officer, he took the matter to the State Police Command having received N1million of his money. The command then decided to take the matter to court.” “He never appeared in court for one day. The whole thing was just to humiliate and embarrass me. I have all the evidence of the payments I made to him because PPRO always acknowledged the money I brought. “The PPRO even told me he was ready to come and testify in court that I was already paying back the money. But Tobias never came to court,” Ogiamien said. The businessman further stated that he was making effort to raise the balance of N1million, when the complainant instigated his arrest. Ogiamien had pleaded not guilty to the five-count charges bordering on fraud when he was arraigned. He said he was ready to prove his innocence. After his arraignment, he was admitted to bail in the sum of N300, 000 with two responsible sureties. The case was adjourned for trial and Ogiamien kept attending court. But, the complainant failed to turn up to give evidence. After three adjournments without the complainant showing up, Ogiamien’s lawyer Mr. A. Nwaka urged the court to struck out the case. The lawyer said it was clear that the complainant and the prosecution had no case against his client. However Magistrate, Omoyele, granted the application and subsequently struck out the charge. “This charge is hereby struck out for want of diligent prosecution and the defendant is discharged accordingly,” she said.]]>