Lagos traditional ruler who faked his abduction gets jail term reduction

• Dissatisfied with the judgment, the dethroned monarch approached the appeal court to challenge the decision of the Lagos high court

The court of appeal in Lagos on Monday affirmed the conviction and sentencing of one Mutiu Ogundare, a traditional ruler.

Ogundare was Baale of Shangisha in the Magodo area of the state. He was dethroned in 2015 after staging his own abduction.

He was subsequently sentenced to 15 years imprisonment by a Lagos high court for the crime.

The dethroned monarch was said to have orchestrated his own abduction to forment trouble and cause a breach of public peace.

He was allegedly helped by his brother and wife.
Ogundare and Opeyemi Mohammed, his brother, were convicted on three counts bordering on conspiracy and fake abduction.

However, the court discharged and acquitted his wife.

Dissatisfied with the judgment, the dethroned monarch approached the appeal court to challenge the decision of the Lagos high court

Delivering the verdict on Monday, Peter Bassi, the lead judge of the three-member panel of the appeal court, upheld the judgment of the trial court in counts one and two but overturned count three.

Bassi reduced the appellant’s sentence to 12 years from the 15 years handed down by the lower court.

In September 2017, Akinwunmi Ambode, then governor of Lagos, approved the deposition of Ogundare for faking his abduction.

The state government had said Ogundare confessed to security services that he staged the kidnapping to blackmail the state government.