A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, on Monday, granted the bail application of the former Managing Director of Intercontinental Bank Plc, Erastus Akingbola.
Justice Mohammed Idris granted Akingbola bail in the sum of N500 million with two sureties who must have landed property within the court’s jurisdiction.
Other conditions set by the court were that the sureties must show evidence of tax payment for eight years, adding that their title deeds and tax certificates should be verified with the appropriate authorities.
Idris also ordered that Akingbola’s international passport be seized and that the accused should report to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission office every first working day of the week.
The former managing director was arraigned by the EFCC on Aug. 13 on a 22-count charge of theft, money laundering, market manipulation and tax fraud, totaling N346.2 billion and 10 million pounds sterling.
The anti-graft commission alleged that Akingbola committed the offences as the bank’s chief executive officer between 1989 and 2009.
His lead counsel, Felix Fagbohungbe, had on Aug. 12 filed an application on Akingbola’s behalf, urging the court to grant him bail on the grounds that all charges were bailable offences.
The prosecution, however, opposed the bail application on the grounds that the charges bothered on felony and that the accused was not likely to make himself available for trial if granted bail.
The prosecution team, which was led at various times, by Messrs Kola Awodein, Emmanuel Kala and Godwin Obla opposed the bail application in two separate counter-affidavits.
However, at the resumed hearing, Idris struck out the objection in the two counter-affidavits.
According to him, the newspaper reports and an EFCC’s newsletter tendered as exhibits were not enough evidence that Akingbola was declared wanted.
The judge also said that the applicant was unlikely to influence the trial as claimed in the affidavit, as he was no longer the CEO of the bank.
He said the claim that Akingbola returned to the country to avoid extradition was speculative, adding that facts before the court showed that he willingly returned to the country and reported to the EFCC.
In granting the bail, Idris noted that the defendant had no prior criminal record that would suggest that he might jump bail.
He, therefore, ordered that the applicant be remanded in EFCC’s custody until the conditions for bail were met.
The judge fixed Oct. 25 for the commencement of the substantive trial.
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