This is reminiscence of the case of Former Delta State governor, James Ibori whom the courts gave a clean bill of health but is today languishing in jail in the United Kingdom
Access Bank took Erastus Akingbola, the former managing director of Intercontinental Bank which it bought last year to court in London accusing him of having committed fraud against the bank. The judgement, according to Reuters, was handed down by Justice Michael Burton on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, in Nigeria, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is still battling to get any judgement against him. It would be recalled that the initial case instituted against him by the Commission was dismissed by the trial Judge for want of diligent prosecution. Intercontinental, then one of Nigeria's largest banks, was one of nine lenders bailed out by the central bank in 2009, when Akingbola was removed from his post.
The judge ruled that Akingbola and his counterparts owed Access 145 billion naira due to illegal dealing in Intercontinental Bank shares and 16 billion naira in payments made by the bank to Tropics Group, companies in which Akingbola had an interest, reports Reuters.
Akingbola denied any wrongdoing. "The claimant's case is proved," Burton's judgement said. "As the Tropics Payments Claim is concerned, and as for his strategy for the company to buy its own shares ... quite apart from being contrary to Nigerian law, it was simply wrong-headed, and was plainly a substantial contributing factor to the collapse of the bank," Burton added.
Akingobola has already submitted $9 million to the court from property he bought with the bank's money but later sold, the judgement said.
Since it is becoming herculean and impossible to get judgements against big time crooks in Nigeria, UK courts have once again shown that no man is above the law.
By ionigeria.com with Agency reports
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