Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo of a Lagos State High sitting in Ikeja
on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 adjourned for ruling an
application of no case submission brought before it by Dr Erastus Akingbola,
former Managing Director Intercontinental Bank Plc now Access Bank and
Bayo Dada of Tropics Finance Limited. The two defendants are standing trial for
offences bordering on stealing and obtaining under false pretences.
Counsel to Akingbola, Wole Olanipekun (SAN) informed the court
that the defence had filed a motion dated July 4, 2013 supported by a 20-page
affidavit disposed to by the first defendant before the court. He said
the motion sought to raise two issues. One of the issues, he said, bordered on
the jurisdiction of the Attorney General of Lagos State to entertain a
case brought before a Lagos State court by a Federal agency. Olanipekun said
the offences for which the first defendant was charged was not an offence that
can be tried by a Federal Government of Nigeria agency under the Lagos State
Criminal Code . He went further to inform the court that if the Federal
Government decided to try a case of stealing before the Lagos State Law, then
the charges should be in the name of the Attorney General of Lagos State
and not the Attorney General of the Federation.
The second issue challenged the locus standi of the EFCC in
instituting the case. In the application, Olanipekun said EFCC had no power
within the confines of the law to try such an offence. He asked the court to
strike out the entire information contained in the charges against the
first defendant.
Taiwo Osipitan (SAN) appeared for the second defendant. Osipitan
also presented an application via a motion dated July 9,2013. The application
sought to also strike out the charges against Dada on the grounds that the
proof of evidence did not disclose anything linking him to the offences for
which he was charged.
EFCC counsel, Emmanuel Ukala (SAN) however opposed the submission.
He informed that court that the case started in a sister court under Justice
Habeeb Abiru and had reached a concluding stage before Abiru was elevated to
the Court of Appeal. He said the prosecution had filed a counter affidavit in
which it prayed the court to disregard the applications by the defence counsel
because it will amount to a waste of time of the court. He said the matter was
adjourned in February for trial to commence not for the defence counsel to come
up with applications to quash charges. He said the same issues had been
raised before Abiru and it was stuck out.
“The same issues have been raised before Justice Abiru and
at the Court of Appeal. Akingbola vs FRN 2012 NWL; section 211 of the 1999
Constitution which pertains to powers of the Lagos State Attorney General were
examined and further pronouncements were made. At page 530 of that report,
section 211 of the Constitution recognises the fact that a criminal
proceeding can be constituted not only by an Attorney General of a State but
any other authority vested with such prosecutorial powers. Page 532 of the same
report , particularly paragraph C – G, the same Court of Appeal came to a
conclusion that EFCC has rightly initiated criminal proceedings under a State
Law and that only the Attorney General of Lagos State has powers to challenge
the powers of the EFCC not an appellant .”
Ukala went further that “ the impression being created is that the
exercise of powers to prosecute in this case is that of delegation. This case
has shown that this is not a matter of delegation. EFCC by the Act which
created it vested powers in it to institute any criminal matter. A charge of
stealing is part of economic crimes. EFCC is acting right and operating within
its capacity and being an agency of the Federal Government, it can institute
any matter on behalf of the Federal Government. I therefore urge your Lordship
to strike out these applications because they lack merits.” he submitted.
After listening to arguments from counsel, Justice Onigbanjo
adjourned ruling on Akingbola’s application to July 15,2013 and struck out the
second defendant’s application for abuse of court process.
Akingbola and his co-defendant were previously arraigned before
Justice Abiru of the Lagos State High Court in May, 2011 on a 27-count
charge bordering on stealing N46billion depositors’ funds. The case was
at the concluding stage when Abiru was suddenly elevated to the Court of
Appeal. Abiru’s elevation led to the re-arraignment of the duo before
Justice Onigbanjo in February, 2013.
Wilson Uwujaren
Ag.
Head, Media & Publicity
10th
July, 2013
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