N47.1bn fraud: Akingbola opens defence May 21

THE prosecution, on Thursday, concluded its case in the N47.1 billion ongoing trial instituted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against the former Managing Director of Intercontinental Bank Plc (now Access Bank) before Justice Habeeb Abiru of a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja. At the resumed hearing of the case, the anti-graft commission concluded its case after the last prosecution witness, an EFCC investigator, had been cross examined by the defence.Akingbola and his co-defendant, Bayo Dada, the General Manager of Tropics Securities Limited, were initially charged with a 29-count charge, which was later amended and reduced to 21 when his wife's name was struck out from the charge.In the 10 months that the prosecution lasted, the EFCC called only two witnesses, the Chief Inspector of Access Bank, Mr Abdulraheem Jimoh and one of the team of EFCC operatives that investigated the alleged fraud in the bank, Mrs Nkechi Ibekaku.Ibekaku had, earlier in her testimony, told the court that Dada did not produce any document to back all the transfer of money allegedly made by Akingbola, which went into Tropics Securities Limited account and some other companies in which Akingbola and wife, Anthonia, had interest.While being cross-examined by Akingbola's counsel, Mr Deji Sasegbon, Ibekaku told the court that at the time the transactions were made, there was no money in the account of Dr Akingbola. While answering questions on the three Skye Bank cheques which totalled N2.5 billion issued by Chartwell Securities Limited, she said investigations revealed that the money was an illegal transaction, adding that the account of Chartwell was credited from the account of Intercontinental Bank with CBN and that the beneficiary was Akingbola.She also claimed that the document was provided during investigation to show that there was a transaction from which Akingbola was entitled to N10 million as commission.The case was adjourned till May 21, for Akingbola to open his defence.
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