Femi Ashekun/
Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court in Lagos has recused himself from further proceedings in the prosecution of a British national and two Indian citizens facing charges over an alleged $42.48 million fraud, citing a petition accusing him of misconduct in the handling of the case.
The decision represents a significant development in a criminal prosecution that has been before the court since 2022 and involves allegations by the Federal Government that the defendants fraudulently obtained millions of dollars from Ecobank under the guise of financing rice imports into Nigeria.
The defendants, Briton Marcus Wade and Indian nationals Prem Garg and Devashish Garg, are being prosecuted alongside two companies, Wilben Trade Limited and Agrico Agbe Limited, on charges of conspiracy, obtaining money by false pretences and fraud.
According to the charge filed by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), the defendants allegedly conspired between May and September 2015 to defraud Ecobank Plc of $42.48 million by falsely representing that the funds would be used for rice importation.
One of the counts alleges that the defendants conspired to commit offences punishable under Section 422 of the Criminal Code Act.
Despite the charges having been pending for about four years, none of the defendants has appeared before the court to take a plea.
The matter has been adjourned repeatedly, largely at the instance of the defence, while efforts to move the case forward have remained unsuccessful.
When the case came up for hearing on Monday, the defendants were again absent.
However, the first, second and fourth defendants were represented by counsel, Prince Demola Seriki.
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.
It was during the hearing that Justice Aluko addressed a petition that had been submitted against him following an earlier adjournment granted at the request of counsel representing the nominal complainant.
The petition, which the judge described as anonymous because it did not contain the name of the author, accused him of “gross misconduct” for granting the adjournment.
Justice Aluko disclosed that the petition was linked to one Babajide O. of the law firm Sofunde, Osakwe, Ogundipe & Belgore.
Expressing concern over the allegations, the judge rejected suggestions that he had acted improperly or shown favour to any party in the proceedings.
He emphasised that the administration of justice requires the participation and cooperation of all parties and noted that the defendants had consistently failed to appear before the court despite several opportunities.
The judge further revealed that three separate notices had been issued in relation to the matter, dismissing claims that any communication from the court had been irregular or designed to mislead the parties.
Justice Aluko maintained that all actions taken in the case had been in accordance with judicial procedure and denied having any personal interest in the outcome of the proceedings.
“I do not have any personal interest in this case,” the judge stated, adding that thousands of cases pass through his court without any preferential treatment being accorded to litigants.
While firmly rejecting allegations of bias and misconduct, Justice Aluko concluded that the petition had created circumstances that made it appropriate for him to step aside from the matter in order to preserve confidence in the judicial process.
Consequently, he announced his withdrawal from the case and directed that the file be returned to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court for reassignment.
“The case file will be returned to the Chief Judge for assignment to another judge for further prosecution of the matter,” he ruled.
The decision means that proceedings in the long-running fraud case will now continue before a different judge, once the matter is reassigned by the court’s leadership.
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