Filmmaker Seun Egbegbe has regained his freedom after spending five years and eight months in detention.
Born Olajide Kareem, the filmmaker was accused of scamming no fewer than 30 bureau de change operators in Lagos of various sums both in local and foreign currencies between 2015 and 2017.
Seun stood trial alongside his co-defendants Oyekan Ayomide, Lawal Kareem, Olalekan Yusuf and Muyideen Shoyombo in the fraud charges filed against them by the police.
The Yoruba movie marketer was accused of swindling the BDC operators by claiming that he had naira to change into foreign currencies and vice versa.
Police put the total sum at N39, 098,100, $90,000 and £12,550.
Seun, an ex-lover of actress Toyin Abraham, formerly known as Toyin Aimakhu, was first arraigned in February 2017 before Justice Oluremi Oguntoyinbo.
The prosecuting counsel for the police, Innocent Anyigor, said Egbegbe and the other defendants acted contrary to Section 8 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act 2006 and were liable to be punished under Section 1(3) of the same Act.
However, on October 11, a Federal High Court, Ikoyi in Lagos found Egbegbe guilty of just one of the 44 counts charges against him and set him free.
Justice Oguntoyinbo declared that 43 of the 44 count charges were quashed because of lack of witnesses to substantiate their claims.
She also stated that the prosecuting team failed in the responsibility to produce evidence, to be backed with witnesses on Counts 4, 19 and 21.
The judge also said that police tampered with the money recovered from the suspects, Justice Oguntoyinbo also ruled that all the money recovered from Egbegbe as evidence should be returned to him.
