Alleged N4.8bn Fraud: Court re-schedules Cletus Ibeto’s trial

The Lagos State High Court in Ikeja has adjourned till 24 October for further hearing in the alleged N4.8 billion fraud trial of Cletus Ibeto, Chairman, Ibeto Energy Development Company.

The court scheduled Thursday for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to arraign Mr Ibeto alongside his Ibeto Energy Development Company and Odoh Holdings Ltd on 10 counts of fraud involving a N4.8 billion land deal.

In the ten counts, EFCC accused the defendants of obtaining by false pretences, fraudulent conversion of property, criminal breach of trust, forgery and deception, according to an EFCC press statement issued on Friday.

However, the scheduled arraignment could not proceed due to uncertainties surrounding ongoing out-of-court settlement talks between the parties connected to the case.

Mr Ibeto was absent from Thursday’s proceedings, according to the statement signed by EFCC’s spokesperson, Dele Oyewale.

The prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, noted at the proceedings that rather than appearing in court for his arraignment, Mr had chosen to negotiate a plan to pay back the funds involved in the case with the commission.

Mr Jacobs, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said, “We need to know what their plans are. Are they planning to continue with the litigation? Or do they want to sit with the prosecution and the complainant to negotiate an out-of-court settlement?

“He has paid back a large part of the money, and we need to know whether we should use it as an exhibit or consider it his commitment to an out-of-court settlement because they have continued to file different applications challenging the court’s competence to hear the matter.”

Defence counsel, Adebayo Oshodi, did not react to the submissions by Mr Jacobs and instead sought the leave of the court to re-list an application challenging the court’s territorial jurisdiction.

Responding, Mr Jacobs kicked against the call for the re-listing of the application, which he said the court struck out based on its voluntary withdrawal by the defence team.

“It can not be re-listed before the same court,” he added.

The trial judge, Oyindamola Ogala, upheld the argument of the prosecution counsel.

The judge also frowned on Mr Ibeto’s failure to appear in court.

Instead of appearing in court, the judge said, Mr Ibeto has been meeting EFCC investigators to discuss paying back the money he allegedly owes the complainant instead of appearing in court.

She said she would not comment on the move by the prosecution and the defence to settle the matter out of court.

She adjourned till 24 October for further hearing.

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Charges

Count one reads: “That Chief Cletus Ibeto, Ibeto Energy Development Ltd and Odoh Holdings Ltd., between June 2016 and May 2017, within the jurisdiction of the court, by false pretence and with intent to defraud, obtained from Dozzy Oil & Gas Ltd and Sir Daniel Chukwudozie, the sum of N4.8 billion purporting same to be consideration for 22.6536 hectares of land, which he claimed to have at the end of Reclamation Road Layout, Port Harcourt, Rivers State by a deed of sublease executed by Odoh Holdings and Ibeto Energy Development Ltd when he only had 7.9 hectares of the said land.”

Count three reads: “That Chief Cletus Ibeto, Ibeto Energy Development Ltd and Odoh Holdings Ltd., on or about 30 January 2018, allegedly with intent to defraud, forged a Deed Of Sublease between Odoh Holdings Ltd and Ibeto Development Ltd purportedly, registered as No 47, Page 47, Vol. 280 of the Lands Registry, Rivers State wherein they claimed that Odoh Holdings Ltd acquired leasehold interest in respect of 22.6536.”

The defendants are further accused of obtaining the sum of N2.5 billion from their alleged victims as consideration for a non-existent 14.1 hectares of land.

The allleged offences violate section 1 of the Advance Fee Fraud Act 2006, Section 365(3d) and (e), and Section 366 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.