Fraud: Akala, 2 others in fresh trial

Posted by admin Headlines, Oyo, State News Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

The trial of the former Governor of Oyo State, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala and two others being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) over allegations bothering on corruption, resumed yesterday before Justice Akintunde Boade of the Oyo State High Court.

Akala, his former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters and now a Senator, Hosea Ayoola Agboola and a private businessman, Mr. Femi Babalola were facing trial on an 11-count charge of awarding contracts without budget provision, obtaining of several millions of Naira by false pretence from the joint account of the local government councils in the state and acquisition of property with the money derived from the illegal act among others.

Justice Moshood Abass who was at the inception of the case on October 11, 2011 had granted all the accused persons bail.
Less than 24 hours after the ruling, the judge’s decision was condemned in an advertorial where it was alleged that Justice Abass would not be fair in his handling of the case due to his relationship with the former governor. But following the objections raised by concerned citizens of the state. The case was transferred to another judge.

At yesterday hearing, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi SAN, counsel to the accused expressed worries over the arbitrary transfer of the case from the previous court to Boade’s court after the prosecution counsel, Godwin Obla had disclosed, he only got the information that the case had been transferred to another court in the early hours of yesterday.
According to Fagbemi, a situation where some people would seat down somewhere and determine which judge would hear a particular case would not augur well for the judiciary, adding that he was ready to stand before any of the judges in the state.

He noted that it was strange that a case would be transferred from a particular court without an application from either the accused or the prosecution.
Fagbemi had told the court that he was aware that Justice Boade was the master in his own court and would not be bound by whatever decision taken by his learned brother. He nevertheless pleaded that his clients were admitted on bail, having demonstrated commitment to a similar bail granted them in the past. According to him, availability of the accused persons was the mother of all factor, saying, they had come on their own and that has been their attitude since they were invited for interrogation by the EFCC.
He stressed that, for pleading not guilty, there are constitutional assumptions of innocence, adding, the accused would always be coming for trial. “Their sureties are still available,” he added.

Though, the prosecution counsel, Obla requested for a fresh trial of the case, he did not however objected to granting the accused persons bail as it was previously done by the trial judge.
He urged the judge to use his discretion in determining the bail conditions just as he requested that the concern of his principal was speedy trial of the case. Justice Boade in his short ruling admitted the accused persons on bail with the same conditions.

-Sunwp_posts