A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja today; Friday ordered the remand of the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of Duport Midstream Company Limited, Mr. Akintoye Akindele, at the Kuje Correctional Centre, Abuja over alleged $5.6 million fraud.
The Court presided over by Justice James Omotosho
ordered that Akindele should remain in custody till March 20, 2024, pending the consideration of the documents confirming the perfection of the bail granted him earlier.
A four-count charge was brought against him by the office of the Inspector General of Police (IGP).
The IGP office had accused the defendant of diverting the sum of $5,636,397.01, and N73, 543,763.25, belonging to Summit Oil International Ltd.
Akindele and his company, which is the second defendant in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/570/2023, were said to have committed the act between 2017 and 2021 when they allegedly converted the said sum received from Shell into personal use.
Recall that the court had, on March 1, admitted the oil magnate to bail in the sum of N750 million with two sureties in like sum, shortly after he was arraigned on allegations bordering on $5.6 million fraud.
Justice Omotosho while granting the bail, held that the defendant must meet all the conditions attached to the bail before or by March 8, and later adjourned till March 15, for the commencement of trial.
Part of the conditions are that the two sureties must own landed property within the jurisdiction of the court.
In addition, the sureties, who must swear to an affidavit of means, are to also deposit their statements of account with the registrar of the court.
Justice Omotosho, who had held that because the defendant came to court from his house, the court would permit him to enjoy the bail of the FCT High Court, till March 8 and maintained that the defendant would be remanded if he failed to meet the conditions of the new bail by March 8, 2024.
But when the case came up for trial today, the Prosecution Counsel,Simon Lough (SAN) attempted to make an oral application seeking the transfer of the case from the Federal High Court, Abuja, to the Federal High Court, Lagos.
According to Simon Lough, the proper jurisdiction for the trial of the defendant is Lagos division; being the jurisdiction where the offence was allegedly committed and all the witnesses as well as evidence are in Lagos.
Although Akindele’s lawyers, led by Chief James Onoja (SAN) objected to the oral request made by the police, the court, however, declined to take submissions from all parties, stressing that the issue of transfer is one that the prosecution must put into writing.
“Transfer is not by oral application, it has to come through affidavit evidence”, Omotosho stated and added that the prosecution would, besides filing the application, state the grounds for the transfer, serve same on the defendant, who will, either agree or object to the transfer, giving reasons why the court should not grant the request.
Based on that, Justice Omotosho, asked the lawyers to agree on a date for an adjournment to enable the prosecution to do the needful in respect of the transfer application, asked about the position of the bail granted to the defendant.
“We submitted last week before the date given to us”, Akindele’s lawyers said, but the Judge said he had not seen it.
But Onoja insisted that the documents were submitted to the court, urging one of the registrars to confirm that the documents are in the custody of the court already.
Although the judge initially refused the request to look into the documents, on grounds that they were not before him, adding that up till “yesterday, I asked for all pending files, I sat until 5.30 pm, I didn’t see the file”, changed his mind after persuasion from the defence lawyer, who claimed that the defendant has some health challenges that may get worse if remanded.
However, Justice Omotosho after going through the file observed that the bail was not perfected before March 8, as ordered by the court.
According to the Judge,while the letter of introduction of the sureties was dated March 13, the affidavit of means was dated March 11, three days after the March 8, deadline for perfection.
After a plea by the defendant’s lawyer to consider and extend the period for the perfection of the bail, Justice Omotosho then adjourned till March 20, for consideration of the bail perfection as well as hearing on the application for transfer of the case to the Lagos division of the Federal High Court.
Meanwhile, the judge ordered that “the defendant shall be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Center”, in Abuja.
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