By Jude-Ken Ojinnaka
Consequent upon various petitions to the Chief Judge of Lagos State against Justice Ismail Ijelu, alleging bias and also challenging the court’s jurisdiction in the case of alleged N4.8 billion fraud filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against the Chairman of Ibeto Energy Development Company, Chief Cletus Ibeto and two others, the Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Kazeem Alogba, has reassigned the case file to Justice Oyindamola Ogala.
Justice Alogba reassigned the case after reviewing the petitions written by the defendants against Justice Ismail Ijelu, who hitherto presided over the case.
In the various petitions, the defendants had accused Justice Ijelu of bias and also challenged the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the case.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had dragged Chief Ibeto before the court alongside his companies, Ibeto Energy Development Company and Odoh Holdings Limited, on a 10-counts charge bordering on allegations of conspiracy, fraud, forgery and fraudulent use of documents.
At the resumed hearing of the case on Friday, before Justice Ogala, neither the prosecution (EFCC) nor the defendants were in court.
When the court’s registrar called the case, Adebayo Shittu announced appearance for all the defendants while Lagos State Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Dr. Babajide Martins, announced his appearance as an interested party.
Dr. Martins informed the court that his appearance in the matter as an interested party was based on Section 221 of the 1999 Constitution and the petition written by the defendants asking the State’s Attorney General to take over the case.
After hearing from the defendants’ counsel and DPP, Justice Ogala held that the trial cannot go on because of the absence of the prosecution.
Justice Ogala told the parties present that the case would be adjourned and a hearing notice would be served on the EFCC, to appear on the next adjourned date.
Subsequently, the judge adjourned further hearings of the matter to March 11.
The scheduled arraignment of the defendant has been stalled on four occasions, September 28, October 5, November 3 and December 6, 2023, due to his failure to appear in court. However, he was represented by his lawyers.
The constant absence of the defendant prompted Justice Ijelu to accede to the prosecution’s request on November 3, 2023, to arrest the businessman for allegedly refusing to appear to take his plea despite many undertakings by his lawyers to produce him in court.
However, during the proceedings of December 6, 2023, the Lagos State Attorney-General, Lawal Pedro, informed the court that he was considering taking over the matter based on a petition written by the defendant.
The State’s Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Jide Martins, who represented the Attorney-General in court, also informed the court of a 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 through its counsel Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), challenged the move, describing it as an attempt to scuttle the trial.
Jacobs (SAN) 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 seized of the whole matter, the Attorney General would change his mind.