A Federal High Court in Abuja has set Tuesday, January 8, for judgment on a bail application filed by Akindele Akintoye, Founder and Chairman of Platform Capital Investment Partners Limited.
Judge Emeka Nwite fixed the date after lawyer Emmanuel Esedo and Martha Babatunde, who appeared before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), argued their case for and against the bail application.
When the case was arraigned, Esedo informed the court that the matter was listed for hearing of their bail application.
He said the anti-graft agency had been properly served.
Babatunde, however, said the prosecution had just received a new affidavit from the defense and new facts had emerged to which they had to respond.
“They said the correctional center does not have the capacity to care for the defendant. We would like to respond to these facts, sir,” she said.
Esedo, who said the lawsuits should end, said the issue of the correctional center not having the capacity to care for his client was not a new issue.
The lawyer told the court that before they came to court, they were informed by the correctional center officers that Akintoye had fainted.
Judge Nwite then granted Esedo permission to proceed with the application.
Esedo moved the motion, saying the bail application was dated and filed on December 23.
He said it was established under Sections 35 and 36 of the 1999 Constitution and Section 158 of the Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.
He said the motion sought an order to allow Akintoye to remain free on bail pending the hearing and determination of charges against him.
The lawyer said two exhibits were attached to the petition.
He said Exhibit AA-1 was a copy of the medical report while Exhibit AA-2 was a ruling by Judge Adebiyi of the FCT High Court.
He urged the court to exercise its discretion in favor of the Akintoye.
He said they had also filed a supplementary affidavit in response to the EFCC’s defence, with two pieces of evidence attached.
“We have Exhibit AA-3, a copy of the applicant’s lawyer’s letter to the committee explaining his absence from Nigeria when he was first invited.
“We have Exhibit AA-4, a copy of a letter addressed to the EFCC explaining the issue of the applicant’s international passport,” he said.
Judge Nwite then asked: “Where is the international passport?”
Esedo explained that Akintoye should also be arraigned at an FCT High where the travel document was deposited.
He said that when his client wanted to travel abroad for Medicare, the court released the document to him through the bonds.
He said after the trip, the travel documents were deposited with the guarantors who were in Lagos in accordance with the court order.
“If the court orders the production of the international passport, how can we reconcile this now?” the judge asked.
Esedo said if the judge were to insist on the production of the travel documents, it would be contrary to the order of the FCT High Court.
“Everything they investigated here was investigated before the other court, which ordered that he be released unconditionally,” he said.
Justice Nwite said the court order must be given to ensure that the suspect endures his trial.
Babatunde, who represented EFCC, in response to the bail application, said they filed an eight-paragraph counter-affidavit with eight pieces of evidence.
She urged the court to reject Akintoye’s bail application.
According to her, the reason why the prosecutor is praying the court to dismiss this application is that the applicant (Akintoye) is a flight risk.
She argued that the present case, which bordered on a money laundering crime, was different from the other two in which the suspect is on trial.
The EFCC lawyer also argued that the court cannot be bound by the terms of the earlier bail granted to Akintoye.
She alleged that when Akintoye was granted administrative bail by the commission, he was asked for his international passport but he claimed that this was presented to the FCT High Court.
“We wrote to the court and the court said it concerns the defendant. This attitude of the accused shows that he is unlikely to be released on bail,” she said.
But Akintoye’s lawyer told the court that his client spent 60 days in EFCC detention after accepting the invitation before being brought to trial.
He alleged that the anti-graft agency had also twice refused to allow him to appear in court, where he was standing trial when the case came up.
Judge Nwite adjourned the matter to January 8 for ruling on the bail application.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that in the four charges, Akintoye is alleged to have misused the sum of US$26,060,406.00 meant to build a refinery in Brass, Bayelsa.
Akintoye, Platform Capital Investment Partners Limited and Duport Midstream Company Limited, where he is also Managing Director and CEO, were charged as the first to third defendants respectively by the anti-graft agency.
The EFCC alleged in the complaint marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/641/V/2024 dated and filed on December 19 by its lawyer, Ekele Iheanacho, SAN, that Akintoye and Platform Capital Investment Partners Limited between December 2020 and February 2021 indirectly withheld $16 million.
The amount, the EFCC said, was part of the funds dishonestly converted from the money paid by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) Capacity Development Intervention Company Ltd to Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited as investment .
The stated amount of $16,006,000 is said to be the proceeds of unlawful activities.
The offense, according to the EFCC, is contrary to Section 15 (2) (d) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011 (as amended) by Act No. 1 of 20!2 and punishable under Section 5 (3) of the same law. .
In count two, between December 2020 and January 2021, Akintoye and Platform Capital are alleged to have indirectly used the total amount of $9,048,725 as part of the funds dishonestly converted from the money transferred by the NCDMB Capacity Development Intervention Company Ltd. had been paid to Atlantic International. Refinery and Petrochemical Limited as investment.
The said amount of $9,048,725 is said to be the proceeds of unlawful activities and the offense is contrary to Section 15 (2) (d) of the Moncey Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011 (as amended) by Act No. 1 of 2012 and punishable under Article 15(3) of the same law.
In count three, Akintoye and Duport Midstream Company Limited are alleged to have withheld the amount of $785 sometime in March 2021, of which 681 was part of the funds dishonestly converted from the money transferred by the NCDMB Capacity Development Intervention Company Ltd to Atlantic International Refinery was paid for. and Petrochemicals Limited as investment.
The amount would be the proceeds of unlawful activities.
According to the commission, the offense is contrary to Section 15 (2) (d) of the Moncey Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011 (as amended) by Act No. 1 of 2012 and punishable under Section 15 (3) of the same Act.
The EFCC, in count four, accused Akintoye and Duport Midstream of allegedly withholding the sum of $220,000 as part of the funds dishonestly converted from the money transferred by the NCDMB Capacity Development Intervention Company Ltd. was paid as an investment to Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited. .
The money is said to be the proceeds of unlawful activities and the offense is contrary to section 15 (2) (d) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011 (as amended) by Act No. 1 of 2012 and punishable under section 15 (3). ) of the same law.
After the charges were read to Akintoye, he pleaded not guilty to all charges on behalf of the companies and was remanded to Kuje Correctional Center pending the bail application.