An Ikeja Special Offences Court has ordered the Economic And Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to release $20,000 collected in 2019 to its owner, Mr Olalekan Abdul.
Justice Mojisola Dada gave the orders while ruling on a motion on notice filed before the court and after hearing from T.A. Mokuolu for the prosecution and O.C. Olatunji for the applicant.
Justice Dada granted an order granting delivery and/or restoration to the defendant,
Olalekan Abdul, $20,000:00 property of the defendant tendered and admitted as Exhibit B at the trial proceeding of March 8, 2023 and ordered to be held and kept in escrow Domiciliary Account in Polaris Bank, Ikeja in the name of the Chief Registrar of the High Court of Lagos State in pending completion of the case, now – concluded.
The court also granted an order lifting the lien on and directing the release to the defendant, Olalekan Abdul, N10million held in defendant’s surety, Mrs. Jemilat Oluremi Yusuf-Sada’s Access Bank Account No. 1374520332 as condition for defendant’s bail as per the ruling of the court dated January 31, 2020) pending completion of trial on the charge now concluded.
It would be recalled that the court had on March 5 discharged and acquitted the Chairman of Cleanserve, Azubuike Ishiekwene, and Managing Director/CEO, Olalekan Abdul, of the case of fraud and forgery made against them by a nominal complainant.
The EFCC had arraigned the defendants on a 26-count charge bordering on conspiracy, forgery, using false documents without authority, possessing fraudulent documents, stealing and making documents without authority.
The Commission was acting at the behest of a nominal complainant, a certain Mr. Chris Ndulue, who claimed he was a director in the private company but was not in the file of the Corporate Affairs Commission and had no valid proxy.
Ishiekwene and Abdul, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge, following their arraignment on January 30, 2020.
During the pendency of the charge, which started five years ago with suit number ID/11126C/2019, the prosecution had called nine witnesses, while the defence had called four witnesses.
Mr. Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika (SAN) appeared for the first defendant, Abdul, and Dr. Muiz Banire (SAN) appeared for Ishiekwene, the second defendant.
Following a series of applications, one of which challenged the EFCC’s use of a fiat by Lagos State in a case in which the defence counsel argued that a $20,000 bribe had compromised an operative and that the prosecution was on a mission of “persecution,” the office of the Attorney-General of Lagos State, Mr. Lawal Pedro (SAN), stepped in and took over the matter after a review.
Before the Lagos State AG stepped in, the court had ordered the recovery of the $20,000 from the custody of the EFCC and admitted the same as an exhibit.
During the investigation, an EFCC operative demanded a bribe in 2019 to “kill the matter” because, according to him, the facts suggested that Ndulue had no case.
A report of the demand was made through Mr. Ola Olukoyede (then the Secretary of the Commission), who ordered a sting operation in Lagos, during which other EFCC operatives apprehended their colleague.
When the report reached the then-chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, he squashed it, redeployed the operative who had demanded a bribe, and turned the case against the defendants who had reported the operative.
