Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court in Lagos has withdrawn from the ongoing trial of a British national and two Indian businessmen accused of defrauding Ecobank Plc of $42.48 million.
The defendants — Marcus Wade, a Briton, alongside Indian nationals Prem Garg and Devashish Garg — are facing charges filed by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation over an alleged fraudulent transaction linked to rice importation.
The prosecution also listed two companies, Wilben Trade Limited and Agrico Agbe Limited, as defendants in the case.
According to the charge, marked FHC/L/562C/2022, the accused persons allegedly conspired to obtain the sum from Ecobank in 2015 under the guise of financing rice imports into Nigeria.
Despite the matter being instituted in 2022, none of the defendants has appeared before the court to take their plea, with proceedings repeatedly stalled by a series of adjournments.
At Monday’s sitting, the defendants were again absent.
While counsel representing the first, second and fourth defendants, Demola Seriki, announced his appearance, 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 hearing, Justice Aluko disclosed that a petition alleging misconduct had been filed against him following an adjournment previously granted at the request of the complainant’s counsel.
The judge revealed that although the petition was submitted anonymously, investigations traced it to O. Babajide, a legal practitioner associated with the chambers of Sofunde, Osakwe, Ogundipe and Belgore.
Addressing the allegations, Justice Aluko defended the decisions taken by the court and stressed that the effective administration of justice depends on the cooperation of all parties involved in a case.
He noted that the defendants had consistently failed to honour court proceedings despite several opportunities and official notices issued to them.
The judge also disclosed that three separate notices had been issued in connection with the matter, dismissing suggestions that the court acted improperly or attempted to mislead any party.
Maintaining that he had no personal stake in the case, Justice Aluko stated that the matter was one of thousands handled by the court and that no litigant had been accorded special treatment.
To preserve confidence in the judicial process, the judge subsequently recused himself from the proceedings and ordered that the case file be returned to the Chief Judge for reassignment to another judge.
The decision effectively brings his involvement in the high-profile fraud case to an end, paving the way for fresh proceedings before a different court.