Don’t grant Akingbola bail - EFCC

[emezico]

The Economic and Financial  Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Monday, told a Lagos High Court sitting in  Ikeja not to grant the bail application of the detained former Chief Executive/Managing Director of Intercontinental Bank Plc, Dr Erastus Akingbola, as granting such may jeopardise the ongoing trial before the court.

The EFCC counsel, Godwin Obla, while arguing his motion before the court argued that the antecedents of the former bank chief, considering the fact that his wife is still at large and Akingbola himself came back into the country unwillingly as he only returned when the EFCC arranged with the British government to extradite him, did not give room for his being granted bail.

According to him, releasing Akingbola on bail, based on the fact that a High Court had already granted him bail in a similar case could not be justified as he was arraigned under different laws as well as under different charges.

Obla noted that the court had to consider the fact of the case before it and the affidavit in support of the bail application filed by the defendants and their counter affidavit in the consideration of granting the bail and concluded that the charge before the court was totally different from the one at the Federal High Court, adding that the bail application cannot be the same with the one at the Federal High Court.

He then urged the court to use his discretionary power to dismiss the bail application as the weight of the offences preffered against the former bank chief and his co-defendant is heavy. He prayed the court to sway its discretion in favour of the anti graft commission.

In his own submission before the court, however, Deji Sasegbon (SAN), counsel for Akingbola, asked the court to grant his clients bail in line with the conditions applicable to the bail granted him before the Federal High Court, Lagos.

According to him, granting Akingbola bail would not in any way affect the trial of the criminal case before the court. Sasegbon further agrued that the Federal High Court in granting him bail considered the defendant's personality, while granting it. He stated that Akingbola would keep faith and abide with the court's bail conditions.

The counsel further informed the court that it should consider the fact that the charges before the court were bailable ones, though the discretionary power of granting the bail laid in the hands of the court.
He therefore urged the court to exercise its dicretionary power in favour of his clients. 



Source: Tribune