Former C.E.O 'Erastus Akingbola' Arrested For Fraud & Money Laundering Seeks Permission To Travel Abroad

Former Chief Executive Officer of Intercontinental, now Access Bank, Erastus Akingbola, who was re-arraigned on February 26, has asked the court to give him permission to travel for medical treatment abroad.  

And he wants the court to grant the permission right away. In turn, his associate, Bayo Dada complained to the court that he cannot comply with the EFCC’s request to report at their office weekly, and requested a reporting schedule that would be more convenient for him.

The judge, Mr. Adeniyi Onigbanjo, as if eager to see Akingbola off to the airport, or to ensure that if he has a cold, it does not develop into a cough, said he would rule on the applications on Wednesday this week, taking into consideration the “urgency” of the requests.

Onigbanjo is likely to grant Mr. Akingbola’s plea, although it is widely-known by Nigerian courts that the health excuse is a gimmick to which wealthy financial crime suspects routinely resort to delay or frustrate trial. Other tricks include technicalities, counter-motions or challenge of court jurisdiction.

Akingbola is being re-arraigned on fraud and money laundering charges of N47billion. In August last year, Akingbola, a pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, was found guilty by a London court of stealing and diverting billions of depositors’ funds to buy properties in the United Kingdom and for buying shares of his own bank for himself in order to manipulate its share price in the stock market.

Source