A 43-year-old staff member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Abbas Olalekan, has been arraigned at the Abeokuta Chief Magistrates’ Court in Ogun State over the death of a corps member.
Olalekan, a resident of the Mosafueto area, Oke-Ata, Abeokuta, is charged with conspiring with others to unlawfully terminate a pregnancy by supplying abortion-inducing drugs.
The prosecution alleged that the offences occurred between January and March in the Ikereku area of Laderin, Abeokuta, and contravened Sections 516 and 230 of the Criminal Code Laws of Ogun State, 2006.
During his trial on Monday, the Prosecution Counsel, Insp. Lawrence Olu-Balogun, told the magistrate that Olalekan conspired with unidentified individuals to commit the felony of abortion.
He further alleged that the defendant supplied the deceased, a female corps member serving in Abeokuta, with drugs intended to terminate her pregnancy.
According to the prosecution, Olalekan had an affair with Ariyo, impregnated her, and allegedly procured the drugs that eventually led to her death.
The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
His defence counsel, Bunmi Adelabu, requested bail in the most liberal terms, citing Section 36(5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), and argued that the charges did not prove her client’s direct responsibility for the death.
In his ruling, the Magistrate, Mrs. A.K. Araba, granted bail in the sum of N500,000 with two sureties of like amount. She ruled that one surety must be a relative, while the other must be gainfully employed.
Araba further instructed that the sureties provide a utility bill, depose to an affidavit of means, submit six passport photographs, and show evidence of 2026 tax payment to the Ogun State government.
The magistrate also ordered that the defendant remain at the Ibara Correctional Centre until the bail conditions are met and adjourned the case to April 14 for further hearing.
