Court grants Akingbola N100m bail

Posted by admin EFCC Politics, Latest Politics, National Politics, Raw Politics Tuesday, June 14th, 2011

Temporary reprieve yesterday came the way of the former chief executive officer of Intercontinental Bank Plc, Mr. Erastus Akingbola, as a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja granted him bail to the sum of N100million with two sureties in like sum.

The court, presided over by Justice Habeeb Abiru also granted Bayo Dada, who was arraigned alongside the former bank chief, bail in the sum of N50million with two sureties in like sum.
Justice Abiru also ordered that the sureties must be resident in Lagos and also have landed property within Lagos. The sureties were to show an identifiable means of income, which must be verified by an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) official or police officer not below the rank of a Sergeant.

The court further added that the sureties were to produce evidence of up-to-date tax payment to Lagos State for three years and this was to be verified by the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service.

Also, the judge ordered that the defendants were to report to the EFCC office on the first working day of every month and they could not travel without leave of court, adding that if they retrieved their travelling documents from the Federal High Court, it should be deposited at the Lagos High Court.

While ruling on the bail application, Justice Abiru held that it was an established fact in law that both the defendants were arraigned before the Federal High Court and were granted bail. He also held that they did not jump the bail given to them and the cases at the sister court were not only grave but the sum involved were also by far lesser than the one involved in the case before the Lagos High Court, though the charges were similar.
The judge also stated that this made it difficult for the court to accept that they would jump bail.

“The prosecution has not given proof that the defendants tampered with trial or further investigations after being granted bail at the Federal High Court, since the charges here are fresh ones different from the 2009 and 2010 cases.”
The EFCC had last Monday, told the court not to grant the bail application of the defendants as granting such might jeopardize the ongoing trial before the court.

The anti graft commission had submitted that the antecedents of the former bank chief, considering the fact that his wife was still at large and Akingbola himself came back into the country unwillingly when the EFCC arranged with the British Government to extradite him, urging the court to use its discretionary powers to dismiss the bail application as the weight of the offences preffered against the former bank chief and his co-defendant was heavy.

Deji Sasegbon, SAN, counsel to Akingbola had, however, asked the court to grant his clients bail in line with the conditions applicable to the bail granted him before the Federal High Court, stating that it would not in any way affect the trial of the criminal case before the court. Sasegbon further argued that the Federal High Court in granting him bail, considered the defendant’s personality, adding that he would keep faith and abide with the court’s bail.

Akingbola was arraigned alongside Bayo Dada on a 22 count charge bordering on theft filed before the court. The duo had pleaded not guilty to the charges and were remanded in custody at the Kirikiri Maximum Prison pending hearing of the bail application.
Justice Abiru therefore, adjourned the case till July 20, 2011 for trial.

-Sunwp_posts