- •Judge orders Akindele’s arrest
A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Maitama, Abuja, has revoked the bail earlier granted Geoffrey Olusegun Akindele, a defendant in the trial of former Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Ahmed Idris, and others, over alleged fraudulent diversion of public funds estimated at about N109 billion.
Justice Yusuf Halilu revoked Akindele’s bail following his failure to appear in court yesterday.
Akindele, described as a Technical Assistant to Idris, is being tried with the ex-AGF; a director in the office of the AG-F, Mohammed Kudu Usman; and a firm linked with Idris – Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange Limited – on a 14-count charge.
When the case was called yesterday, the judge observed that only Idris and Usman were in court, prompting him to ask the counsel to the defendant, S. E. Adino, about Akindele’s whereabouts.
Adino said his client was on the way to court, adding that Akindele had always attended court.
Ruling, Justice Halilu held that Akindele, who is the second defendant, was taking the court for granted.
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The judge said it was incumbent on a defendant, after getting a bail at a court, to reciprocate the gesture by always attending court.
He added that Akindele, by his conduct, had clearly not shown good character and conduct by his refusal to attend court.
Justice Halilu held that Akindele, by his absence in court, had abused the terms of the bail granted him.
He revoked the bail and ordered the Commissioner of Police of the FCT and the prosecuting agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to arrest Akindele and produce him in court on the next adjourned date.
The lawyer to the prosecution, Oluwaleke Atolagbe, had complained that two of the defendants were not represented by lawyers, a development he said was unfair to the prosecution.
Further hearing in the case has been adjourned till February 1.