Court resumes trial of Erastus Akingbola’s over alleged fraud

The trial of the former managing director of the defunct Intercontinental Bank, Erastus Akingbola, has resumed at the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos.

The trial is coming back a year after the Supreme Court ordered Akingbola to face the charges against him. It’s also almost 10 years after the former bank chief was initially arraigned before Justice Mohammed Idris on a 26-count charge of fraud, granting reckless credit facility, abuse of office and mismanagement of depositors’ funds.

The case was later transferred to Justice Charles Archibong on October 25, 2010, but two years later, the judge struck out the charge for want of diligent prosecution by lawyers to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

However, on February 20, 2015, the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division overturned the Federal High Court’s decision striking out the charges against Akingbola.

Akingbola’s appeal to Supreme Court was also dismissed by the apex court, and the court on May 18, 2018, ordered the former bank chief to return to the Federal High Court to answer to the charges preferred against him by the EFCC.

At the proceedings on Tuesday, the EFCC’s witness, Abdulrahim Jimoh, testified that as the Chief Inspector of Intercontinental Bank in November 2009, he discovered that Mr Akingbola acquired properties in London with the sum of £8.5m and £1.3m pounds allegedly diverted from the bank.

He said the bank discovered this after investigating a letter it received via email from Deutsche Bank of London.

Justice Mojisola Olatoregun has adjourned further proceedings in the matter till Wednesday, March 13.