Controversy has surrounded the disappearance of a cashier from Eat ‘N’ Go Limited’s Coldstone Creamery branch in Abule Ado, Moses Ojo, during his arraignment by the Lagos State Police Command at a magistrate’s court in Apapa. The company suspected that some workers were conducting fraudulent transactions by using their accounts to trade with customers. To trace those involved, the company reported the matter to the police, who subsequently arrested Ojo. He was taken to court, where the magistrate, during cross‑examination, learned that he was being charged with defrauding the company of N11,000.
In an interview on Monday, Ojo’s sister, Nifemi, explained that the magistrate offered both the complainant and the defendant the option to settle the matter out of court. She recounted that a customer had asked Ojo to transfer money using OPay or PalmPay. Ojo refused, stating that the company prohibited such transactions. The customer persisted, and after Ojo confirmed the transaction, the customer sent the money to the company and informed his general manager, who warned him that he should have consulted the manager first. Later, Ojo was called by the head office, arrested, and taken to the police station. When their mother visited the station on Tuesday, the DPO advised her to persuade the general manager to repay the money, but the manager insisted that Ojo must go to jail.
During Ojo’s arraignment on Wednesday, the situation escalated when their mother was remanded on the allegation that she had facilitated her son’s escape from court. She called Nifemi from the courtroom, saying she had been handcuffed and that the magistrate deemed the N11,000 case too minor for trial, ordering the company’s assigned case handler, Muritala Ifenaike, to be contacted. Ifenaike allegedly told them the boy must go to jail. While the mother followed the magistrate out of the courtroom, Ojo vanished, leading to accusations that she had helped him escape. She later claimed she was seen on a motorcycle trying to flee with her son. When Nifemi visited her in prison on Saturday, her mother said she was asked to provide N50,000 for bail.
State Police Public Relations Officer SP Benjamin Hundeyin confirmed the developments, stating that Ojo was arraigned and cross‑examined when the magistrate learned the alleged offence was N11,000. The magistrate instructed Ojo, his mother, and the complainant to leave the courtroom to discuss repayment, after which she would strike out the case. However, the complainant returned and alleged that the mother had allowed her son to escape, prompting the magistrate to detain the mother and add charges for aiding the escape.
Rotimi Oladokun, spokesperson for the Nigeria Correctional Service in the state, said the court incident fell outside the service’s jurisdiction and that the police should provide further details. He offered to check whether the mother had been brought to the facility if her name were supplied.
The company’s management issued a statement on Saturday, noting that an audit and internal investigation had revealed that some employees were suspected of fraud at the Lagos store, allegedly diverting sales proceeds into personal accounts. The matter was reported to the police, who investigated and took the suspect to court. According to the police, the suspect absconded from the courtroom with alleged assistance from his mother, who has now been charged with obstruction of justice.
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