The Lagos High Court in Ikeja has rejected an
application brought by former Managing Director of the defunct
Intercontinental Bank, Mr Erastus Akingbola seeking permission to travel
abroad for medical treatment because he might run away.
Justice
Adeniyi Onigbajo in a short ruling on Thursday, held that the
possibility of Mr Akingbola running from his trial is very high since he
now knows the weight of evidence against him following his aborted
trial before Justice Habeeb Abiru, who was elevated to the Court of
Appeal before he could deliver judgment in the case.
The Judge also held that Mr Akingbola did not bring any evidence before the court to show that no medical institution in the country could treat him and there was no evidence to also show that he had made any effort to contact any of the hospital in Nigeria for his treatment.
Justice Onigbanjo however, granted the applications of Mr Akingbola and his co-defendant, Bayo Dada, the General Manager of Tropics Finance Limited for the variation of their bail conditions.
Part of the bail conditions imposed on the men was that they must report at the office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on the first working day of every week.
But the judge said that that particular condition had outlived its usefulness since the EFCC had concluded its investigation of their alleged crime.
He agreed with the submission of the defence counsels that the men needed time to attend to their businesses and prepare for their defence.
He therefore ordered that they only report at the office of the EFCC on the first and third Fridays of every month not later than one hour before closing time in the office of the anti-graft Commission.
The case was then adjourned till the 10th of July for continuation of trial.
Mr Akingbola and Dada are standing trial for allegedly stealing N47.1 billion belonging to the defunct Intercontinental Bank. The charge was instituted against them by the EFCC in 2011.
Akingbola had in his application dated March 19, which was filed by one of his counsel; Mr. Mike Igbokwe (SAN) informed the court that he needed to keep a medical appointment fixed for April 15 at a Harley Street Hospital in London, United Kingdom.
Another of Mr Akingbola’s counsel, Wole Olanipekun(SAN) while arguing the application on Wednesday referred the judge to some of his recent rulings including that of Abdulahi Alao, Mahmud Tukur and Wale Babalakin (SAN), whose applications on similar grounds were recently granted.
He said that there was no reason why a similar application by Akingbola should not be granted.
Justice Onigbanjo however concluded that the authorities being cited by the former bank boss were not binding since the circumstances in those cases were different from the present one.
Justice
Adeniyi Onigbajo in a short ruling on Thursday, held that the
possibility of Mr Akingbola running from his trial is very high since he
now knows the weight of evidence against him following his aborted
trial before Justice Habeeb Abiru, who was elevated to the Court of
Appeal before he could deliver judgment in the case.The Judge also held that Mr Akingbola did not bring any evidence before the court to show that no medical institution in the country could treat him and there was no evidence to also show that he had made any effort to contact any of the hospital in Nigeria for his treatment.
Justice Onigbanjo however, granted the applications of Mr Akingbola and his co-defendant, Bayo Dada, the General Manager of Tropics Finance Limited for the variation of their bail conditions.
Part of the bail conditions imposed on the men was that they must report at the office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on the first working day of every week.
But the judge said that that particular condition had outlived its usefulness since the EFCC had concluded its investigation of their alleged crime.
He agreed with the submission of the defence counsels that the men needed time to attend to their businesses and prepare for their defence.
He therefore ordered that they only report at the office of the EFCC on the first and third Fridays of every month not later than one hour before closing time in the office of the anti-graft Commission.
The case was then adjourned till the 10th of July for continuation of trial.
Mr Akingbola and Dada are standing trial for allegedly stealing N47.1 billion belonging to the defunct Intercontinental Bank. The charge was instituted against them by the EFCC in 2011.
Akingbola had in his application dated March 19, which was filed by one of his counsel; Mr. Mike Igbokwe (SAN) informed the court that he needed to keep a medical appointment fixed for April 15 at a Harley Street Hospital in London, United Kingdom.
Another of Mr Akingbola’s counsel, Wole Olanipekun(SAN) while arguing the application on Wednesday referred the judge to some of his recent rulings including that of Abdulahi Alao, Mahmud Tukur and Wale Babalakin (SAN), whose applications on similar grounds were recently granted.
He said that there was no reason why a similar application by Akingbola should not be granted.
Justice Onigbanjo however concluded that the authorities being cited by the former bank boss were not binding since the circumstances in those cases were different from the present one.
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