Wednesday, January 23, 2013

N47.1bn theft: Lagos CJ re-assigns Akingbola’s case

Akingbola
The Lagos State Chief Judge, Justice Ayotunde Phillips, has re-assigned the case file of former Managing Director of Intercontinental Bank Plc, Erastus Akingbola, to another judge.
The new judge is Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo of the Ikeja High Court.
This follows the elevation of the former trial judge, Justice Habeeb Abiru, to a higher Bench about three months ago. It was gathered that from reliable sources at Ikeja judiciary that the CJ had on January 16 reassigned the case file to Onigbanjo.
It was also learnt that fresh notices of new criminal trial will soon be issued to the parties in the case. By this move, speculations that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, may have decided to tacitly withdraw the charges against Akingbola have been laid to rest.
Akingbola is standing trial along with one Bayo Dada on a 22-count charge, bordering on conspiracy and alleged stealing of N47.1 billion belonging to Intercontinental Bank, now Access Bank Plc.
The EFCC arraigned Akingbola and his co-defendant before Abiru on May 31, 2011. Abiru had taken the evidence of the prosecution witnesses and the defendants were almost set to adopt their written addresses when he was elevated to the Court of Appeal on November 2, 2012.
The position of the law on the authority of the Supreme Court decision in Ogbuayinya versus Okudo, is that once a judge ceases to handle a matter by virtue of his elevation, retirement or removal from the Bench, he becomes functus officio.
This principle, which was inherited under the common law of England, operates in Nigeria being a common law jurisdiction. The judge can longer hear the matter which by implication will commence de novo (afresh) by another judge in the same jurisdiction.
Consequently, the EFCC is expected to formally withdraw the charge and file a fresh one against Akingbola and his co-defendant, Dada, who may be re-arraigned before Onigbanjo soon.

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