Justice Aluko Steps Down from $42.48m Ecobank Fraud Trial Involving British and Indian Defendants
Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court in Lagos has stepped down from presiding over a criminal case involving a British citizen, Marcus Wade, and two Indian nationals, Prem Garg and Devashish Garg, who are accused of defrauding Ecobank Plc of $42.48 million.
The case was instituted by the Office of the Attorney-General ofJustice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court in Lagos has stepped down from presiding over a criminal case involving a British citizen, Marcus Wade, and two Indian nationals, Prem Garg and Devashish Garg, who are accused of defrauding Ecobank Plc of $42.48 million. the Federation against the three foreign nationals and two companies—Wilben Trade Limited and Agrico Agbe Limited. The defendants are facing charges related to conspiracy, fraud, and obtaining money under false pretences.
According to court documents filed under charge number FHC/L/562C/2022, the accused allegedly secured the funds from Ecobank in 2015 by claiming the money would be used to facilitate rice importation into Nigeria.
One of the charges alleges that the defendants conspired between May and September 2015 to commit the offence within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court in Lagos.
Although the charges were filed in 2022, none of the defendants has appeared before the court to enter a plea. The matter has experienced several adjournments, many of which were attributed to requests from the defence.
At the latest hearing, the defendants were again absent. Counsel representing the first, second, and fourth defendants, Demola Seriki, was present in court. Counsel for the nominal complainant, I.A. Akinteye, informed the court that the prosecutor was unable to travel from Abuja to Lagos for the proceedings.
During the session, Justice Aluko addressed concerns regarding a petition that had been submitted against him following an earlier adjournment granted at the complainant’s request. The petition accused the judge of misconduct and was reportedly filed anonymously. However, the judge stated that it was traced to an individual identified as O. Babajide from the chambers of Sofunde, Osakwe, Ogundipe & Belgore.
Responding to the allegations, Justice Aluko defended his handling of the case, stressing that effective administration of justice requires cooperation from all parties involved.
He noted that despite multiple opportunities and official notices issued by the court, the defendants had consistently failed to appear for proceedings. The judge also revealed that three separate notices had been issued in connection with the matter, dismissing suggestions that the court had acted improperly or attempted to mislead any party.
The judge further stated that he had no personal interest in the case and rejected claims of bias. According to him, the matter was one of many cases handled by the court and no party had received preferential treatment.
To preserve confidence in the judicial process, Justice Aluko ultimately recused himself from the proceedings and ordered that the case file be returned to the Chief Judge for reassignment to another judge.
The case will now proceed before a different judge, who will oversee any further prosecution and related proceedings.
