Alleged N48bn Ibeto Fraud: Judge Returns Case File to Lagos CJ

The N4.8 billion alleged fraud arraignment of the Chairman of Ibeto Energy Development Company, Chief Cletus Ibeto, at a Lagos High Court, Ikeja has been  stalled due to the return of the case file by Justice Ismail Ijelu to the Chief Judge, Justice Kazeem Alogba.

At the resumed hearing on Monday, Justice Ijelu had informed all counsel in the matter that the case could not proceed until the Chief Judge decides on the various petitions written by the defendant, challenging the jurisdiction of the court to hear the case and accusing him of bias.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had filed a 10-count charge against Chief Ibeto alongside his companies, Ibeto Energy Development Company and Odoh Holdings Limited over alleged fraud.

The anti- corruption agency  had levelled offences bordering on allegations of conspiracy, fraud, forgery, and fraudulent use of documents against Chief Ibeto and his companies.

However, the scheduled arraignment of the defendant has been stalled on four different occasions,September 28, October 5, November 3, and December 6, 2023 due to Chief Ibeto’s failure to appear in court, although his counsel  has been present.

Justice Ijelu had granted the prosecution’s request on November 3, 2023, ordering the arrest of the businessman, for allegedly refusing to appear in court to take his plea despite many undertakings by his lawyers to produce him in court.

At the last adjourned date, December 6, 2023, the Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice Mr. Lawal Pedro (SAN), informed the court that the Attorney-General of Lagos State had taken over the matter from Rotimi Jacob SAN based on a petition written by the defendant to his office following  the  petition written by the law firm of Robert Clarke (SAN) seeking a review of the case file and the outright taking over of the case by the office of the Attorney-General.

However, the EFCC counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), challenged the move, describing it as an attempt to scuttle the trial. Jacobs had insisted that the Attorney-General’s letter was written without hearing from the EFCC and that the purpose was to shield the defendant from appearing before the court, and when he is seised of the whole matter, the AG will change his mind.

But at the resumed hearing of the matter  on Monday, Justice Ijelu said: “This case cannot go on because the case file has been returned to the Chief Judge due to the many petitions flying around. I advise parties to liaise with the administrative judge to know the next step to take in the case.”

The judge therefore, adjourned the case indefinitely, to await the decision of the various petitions written by the defendant.

On January 15, 2024, Mr. Jacobs had told the Court of Appeal that Chief Ibeto had approached the anti-graft agency seeking to enter a plea bargain arrangement to settle the matter. However, the defendants counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), leading two other Silks ( Uche Val Obi SAN and Bode Olanipekun SAN ) had denied knowledge of any such ongoing plea bargain maintaining that Chief Ibeto never committed any crime in the first place as the dispute between him and Chief Daniel Chukwulozie was a purely civil matter in respect of which was a subsisting judgment of the High Court of Rivers State in favour of his client informing the appellate court  of his readiness to proceed with the appeal in opposition to the request of Mr Jacob’s SAN for an adjournment but the matter was ,however, subsequently adjourned for hearing of the appeal and pending applications till 7 March 2024.