Former Managing Director of the defunct Intercontinental Bank Plc (now Access Bank Plc), Mr. Erastus Akingbola, has challenged the jurisdiction of a Lagos High Court in Ikeja to entertain his re-arraignment for alleged N47.1bn theft.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission were to re-arraign Akingbola and his business associate, Mr. Bayo Dada, for the alleged crime before Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo, on Monday.
The accused persons’ counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), during the Monday’s proceedings, informed the court that he had filed separate notices of preliminary objection, challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the suit.
Two judges had previously, in turn, handled the case. The scheduled re-arraignment of Akingbola and Dada before Justice Lawal-Akapo, was therefore to be the third time they would be arraigned for the 18 counts of theft.
They were first arraigned on May 31, 2011 before Justice Habeeb Abiru (now Justice of the Court of Appeal), who was then presiding over the case at a Lagos High Court, Ikeja.
Trial had been concluded and the matter had been adjourned for adoption of parties’ final written addresses when Abiru was suddenly elevated to the Court of Appeal.
Abiru had adjourned the matter till November 15, 2011 but he was sworn in along with 11 others as a Justice of the Court of Appeal on November 5, 2011.
Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo, who took over the matter, was later transferred out of the Criminal Division of the Lagos High Court, after the accused were re-arraigned before him.
The matter was then re-assigned to Lawal-Akapo.
Akingbola and Mr Bayo Dada were charged on May 4, 2011 with 18-count of conversion and stealing of monies belonging to Intercontinental Bank when Akingbola was the bank’s MD.
According to copies of the applications obtained by our correspondent, the defendants are challenging the court’s jurisdiction to entertain the case because they had also been charged at the Federal High Court based on similar proof of evidence.
Though, the charges filed against them at the Federal High Court were struck out by Justice Charles Archibong (now retired), the defendants argued that the EFCC had lodged appeals at the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, against the judge’s ruling.
They maintained that subjecting them to another trial at the state High Court for alleged offences that should be tried by the Federal High Court would amount to abuse of court process.
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