By Jude-Ken Ojinnaka
The Court of Appeal, Lagos Division has reserved judgement in an appeal filed by an Indian businessman, Ashok Israni and two officials of Keystone Bank, Anayo Nwosu and Olajide Oshodi, against their conviction over N855 million fraud.
The appellate court had in May reserved judgement in the appeal after counsel to all the parties argued and adopted their processes.
However, the appeal suffered a setback following the death of Justice Joseph Shagbaor Ikyegh, one of the members of the special panel of the Appeal Court, constituted to hear the appeal.
Based on the development, the case was re-heard by the regular three-person court panel led by Justice Olukayode Bada.
Recall that Justice Kudirat Jose of an Igbosere High Court, Lagos State, had, on December 9, 2019, convicted and sentenced Israni, Nwosu and Oshodi to give years imprisonment each on an amended 15-count charge bordering on conspiracy, stealing and obtaining money by false pretence.
Justice Jose had also in the said judgement,convicted a company, NULEC Industries Limited, belonging to Israni and Keystone Bank Limited.
The company and the bank were also ordered to pay a fine of N20 million to the Federal Government on counts one, 10 and 13.
But about four months after their conviction, they were released from prison by officials of the Kirikiri Centre of the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCoS), allegedly on the directive of the Lagos State Government, despite the pendency of their appeals before the appellate court.
When the appeal for hearing on, EFCC counsel Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) adopted his brief of argument dated April 27, 2023. He argued that there are several legal authorities to the effect that pardon cannot be granted to convicts whose rights of appeal have not been exhausted.
Jacobs submitted that many legal authorities affirmed that a pardon could not be granted to convicts whose appeal rights have not been exhausted.
He urged the court to declare the purported pardon ‘illegal’ since the appellants’ appeals had been filed and entered since February 13, 2020 but it could not be heard due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forestalled judicial activities.
The EFCC further claimed that immediately after one of the appellants, Anayo Nwosu was released, he allegedly made many publications on social media platforms stating that he was wrongly convicted, jailed and maltreated because of the whims and caprices of the Nominal Complainant.
He urged the court to dismiss the appeal and uphold the lower court’s judgement.
Earlier, Counsel to the Appellants, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) and Abiodun Owonikoko (SAN) had urged the court to allow the Appeal, set aside the judgement of the lower court and acquit all the Appellants of all the charges filed against them.
In his submissions, Chief Olanipekun informed the court that the Appellants had filed an affidavit of facts, which contained the instrument of the pardon granted to them by the Lagos State government, stating that the State charged them to court. The State granted them bail due to the upsurge in COVID-19.
After listening to arguments from the parties, Justice Bada reserved Judgement for the appeal.
