N47 B FRAUD: AKINGBOLA MAKES NO-CASE SUBMISSION

The former Managing Director of Intercontinental Bank Plc (now Access Bank), Dr Erastus Akingbola has filed for a no-case submission before a Lagos high court sitting in Ikeja through his counsel, Deji Sasegbon (SAN).

At the resumed hearing of the N47.1 billion theft charge slammed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Akingbola said even though the prosecutor is just being served, he has a no case application before the court and subject to the court's convenience; he was ready to move it.

'The defendant is asking for an order discharging him of the charges and such other orders as the court may deem fit. Our no case submission is aursuant to Section 239 of the 1999 constitution,' Sasegbon argued.

In a 140 page no case application submitted before the court, Sasegbon argued that his client had asked and answered 19 questions on whether the prosecution had proved its case in the charges leveled against him by taking the transactions one by one.

'The defendants cannot be accused of stealing the bank's money. Some of the transactions are based on loan and the common denominator in loan is that money will be returned. If there is intention to return money, then they cannot be charged with theft,' Sasegbon stated.

But in a counter submission, the EFCC counsel, Emmanuel Ukala (SAN), argued the idea of no case submission was only meant to waste the time of the court because the defence had earlier told the court that they have no intention of moving a no case submission and are ready to open defence.