Crime
Prophet’ remanded in prison over missing child in Ondo
TRACKING____Temitope Yakubu
An Ondo state high court has remanded Alfa Babatunde, general overseer of Sotitobire Miracle Centre in Akure, in prison at Olokuta correctional centre for 39 days.
Babatunde and six others were arraigned on three counts of conspiracy to kidnap and kidnapping of a one-year-old boy in his church in 2019.
At the hearing of the case on Thursday, the prophet and his co-accused pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.
The other defendants in the case are Omodara Olayinka, Margaret Oyebola ,Grace Ogunjobi, Egunjobi Motunrayo and Esther Kayode.
The effort by Olusola Oke, counsel to the defendants, to ensure that the court grant them bail was unsuccessful.
Grace Olowoporoku, the director of public prosecutions in Ondo, told Ayedun Odusola, the judge, that the counsel to the defendants filed multiple bail applications that were difficult to respond to.
The judge then asked Oke to fine tune his bail applications, pending the next hearing date and adjourned the case till 16 ,17 and 19 March for trial.