Court Moves Alleged $5.6m Fraud Case against Akintoye Akindele to Lagos

Justice James Omotosho of a Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the transfer of the trial of the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of Duport Midstream Company Limited, Mr. Akintoye Akindele, to the Lagos division of the court.

Justice Omotosho made the order while delivering a ruling in the application by the Inspector General of Police (IG), seeking the transfer of the case because the Lagos division is the proper place for the trial.

Akindele and his company are standing trial on a four-count criminal charge bordering on alleged diversion of the sum of $5,636,397.01, and N73,543,763.25, belonging to Summit Oil International Ltd.

The two defendants, in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/570/2023, were said to have committed the act between 2017 and 2021, when they allegedly converted the said sum received from Shell into personal use.

While the defendants had pleaded not guilty to the charge, Akindele was granted bail in the sum of N750 million.

However, as the trial was about to commence in March, the prosecution lawyer, Mr. Simon Lough, SAN, brought an application for transfer of the case to the Lagos division of the Federal High Court, because “the proof of evidence, the six witnesses are in Lagos, all the companies and banks involved are in Lagos”.

But, the defendants through their lead counsel, Chief James Onoja, SAN, disagreed, pointing out that the alleged offences in the charge occurred in Benin and not in Lagos.

Onoja in urging the court to dismiss the application said that the defendants are willing to waive their rights and have the matter tried in Abuja.

Delivering the ruling, Justice Omotosho who agreed with the prosecution that the best place for the trial is the Lagos division of the Federal High Court, pointed out that the court does not, “intend to labour in vain” or waste precious judicial time hearing the matter.