Court Dismisses Fraud Charge Against Ibeto After N3.2bn Refund

Justice Oyindamola Ogala of the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja had struck out the alleged N4.8 billion fraud charges filed against the Chairman of Ibeto Energy Development Company, Chief Cletus Ibeto, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The dismissal came after EFCC counsel Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) informed Justice Ogala that Ibeto had refunded N3.2 billion of the money he was accused of stealing from Chief Daniel Chukwudozie, the alleged victim.

The EFCC had instituted a 10-count charge of conspiracy, fraud, forgery, and the fraudulent use of documents against the businessman and his companies, Ibeto Energy Development Company and Odoh Holdings Ltd.

Ibeto’s arraignment had been adjourned multiple times due to his failure to appear in court, although his lawyers were present.

This led former trial judge Justice Ismail Ijelu to agree to the prosecution’s request on November 3, 2023, to order the arrest of Ibeto for not appearing in court despite assurances from his lawyers that he would attend.

However, the Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Kazeem Alogba, reassigned the case to Justice Ogala in February 2024 after the defendants accused Justice Ijelu of bias and challenged the court’s jurisdiction over the case.

During the resumed hearing on Wednesday, Jacobs informed the court that both the defendants and the complainant had met with the EFCC and agreed to settle the matter out of court.

Jacobs stated, “Following the last court session, the parties met with the EFCC to explore settlement options, which resulted in the defendants refunding N3.2 billion to the Commission.

“However, two issues remain unresolved: the allegations of forgery and the $3 million that Ibeto denies collecting from the complainant.

“The EFCC has instructed me to withdraw this case in the spirit of reconciliation while the Commission decides how to address the outstanding issues. I therefore request the court to strike out the charges.”

The defence lawyer, Adebayo Oshodi, affirmed in court that an agreement had been reached, resulting in the refund, but denied that any issues remained unresolved.

He stated, “I can confirm to the court that all parties have reached an agreement, and the matter was settled out of court. I, however, deny that there are any outstanding issues.”

After considering both counsels’ submissions, Justice Ogala struck out the charges.