Court Dismisses Fraud Charges Against Ibeto

Court Dismisses Fraud Charges Against Ibeto

A Lagos State High Court in Ikeja has dismissed the fraud charges amounting to N4.8 billion against Chief Cletus Ibeto…READ MORE…

the Chairman of Ibeto Energy Development Company, brought forth by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Justice Oyindamola Ogala made the ruling after being informed by EFCC counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, that Ibeto had refunded N3.2 billion of the funds he was accused of misappropriating from the alleged victim, Chief Daniel Chukwudozie.

The EFCC had previously filed a 10-count charge against Ibeto and his companies—Ibeto Energy Development Company and Odoh Holdings Limited—alleging conspiracy, fraud, forgery, and the fraudulent use of documents. However, the arraignment of the defendant had been delayed multiple times due to his failure to appear in court, although he was represented by his lawyers.

This situation led the former trial judge, Justice Ismail Ijelu, to grant the prosecution’s request on November 3, 2023, for the businessman’s arrest due to his non-appearance despite the repeated assurances from his lawyers that he would be present in court.

The case file was later reassigned to Justice Ogala in February 2024 by the Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Kazeem Alogba, following allegations of bias against Justice Ijelu from the defendants and challenges to the court’s jurisdiction.

During the resumed hearing yesterday, Jacobs informed the court that the defendants and the complainant had engaged with the EFCC and reached an agreement to settle the matter out of court. Defense counsel Adebayo Oshodi confirmed that the issue had been resolved and that his clients had repaid a portion of the funds, denying any outstanding matters.

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