Court acquits Cleanserve’s chair, managing director of fraud charges

The Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja has discharged and acquitted the Chairman of Cleanserve, Azubuike Ishiekwene, and the Managing Director/CEO, Olalekan Abdul, in the case of fraud and forgery instituted against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

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EFCC had arraigned them on 26 counts of conspiracy, forgery, using false documents without authority, possessing fraudulent documents, stealing and making documents without authority.

The prosecution was prompted by complaints from Chris Ndulue, who claimed he was a director in the company but was not in the file of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

Messrs Ishiekwene and Abdul, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges during their arraignment on 30 January 2020.

During the trial with charge number ID/11126C/2019, which started five years ago, the prosecution called nine witnesses, while the defence called four witnesses.

The judge, Mojisola Dada, struck out the charges in her judgement delivered on 30 January after the prosecution withdrew the case.

Highlighting the developments leading up to dropping the charges, the judge recalled that after the fourth defence witness finished testifying, there were a series of applications filed by the defence and the prosecution in the middle of which the office of the Attorney General of Lagos State was persuaded to take over the matter and it did.

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Eventually, the attorney-general’s office filed a notice of discontinuance pursuant to Section 211 (1) (C) of the Constitution.

Although the EFCC, through its lawyer, Franklin Ofoma, filed a notice of preliminary objection, it later conceded to the discontinuance of the 20 out the 26 counts that were brought under the Criminal Law of Lagos State.

The prosecution then filed an amended case dated 24 October 2024, which saw the only surviving count against the second defendant, Mr Ishekwene, being dropped and his eventual discharge from the case pursuant to Section 155 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law, 2015 now 2021.

The latest amendment was therefore against the erstwhile first defendant, Mr Abdul, under federal law which was outside the purview of the Attorney-General of Lagos State.

However, before the arraignment of the said first defendant on the new amended charge, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) took over the matter and subsequently sought to withdraw and discontinue it pursuant to Section 108 (1) of ACJA, 2015.

“This, therefore, puts paid to all pending applications and the case struck out and the defendants discharged and acquitted pursuant to Section 73 (1) and (11) ACJL, 2021,” the judge ruled.

Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), appeared for the first defendant, Mr Abdul, and Muiz Banire, also a SAN, appeared for Mr Ishiekwene, the second defendant.

One of the applications filed in the lead-up to the withdrawal of the case challenged the EFCC’s use of a fiat from the Lagos State Government in a case in which the defence counsel argued that a $20,000 bribe had compromised an operative and that the prosecution was on a mission of “persecution.” In the aftermath of the allegation, the office of the Attorney-General of Lagos State, Lawal Pedro, a SAN, stepped in and took over the matter after a review.

Before the Lagos State attorney-general stepped in, the court had ordered the recovery of the $20,000 from the custody of the EFCC and admitted the same as an exhibit. During the investigation, an EFCC operative demanded a bribe in 2019 to “kill the matter” because, according to him, the facts suggested that Mr Ndulue had no case.

A report of the demand was made through Ola Olukoyede (then the Secretary of the Commission), who ordered a sting operation in Lagos, during which other EFCC operatives apprehended the operative.

The defence counsel had also argued that the prosecution was executing the agenda of Mr Ndulue, a former Managing Director of Arik Air, whom he said gave former Deputy Inspector General of Police, Michael Ogbizi, millions of naira bribe to use the police to arrest and detain Messrs Ishiekwene and Abdul, before hijacking Cleanserve.

Mr Ndulue admitted to giving Mr Ogbizi money when he testified on oath in court. In the aftermath of the payment, armed police arrested and detained Mesrs Ishiekwene and Abdul during a board meeting in Radisson Blu, Ikeja, Lagos. While the defendants were in detention, Mr Ogbizi was said to have imposed Mr Ndulue as “managing director” of Cleanserve.

After reviewing the case, the Lagos State Attorney-General’s office subsequently filed a notice of discontinuance that initially led to the pruning down of the number of counts drastically, before the Attorney-General of the Federation also stepped in to withdraw the remaining charges filed under federal law.

In her judgement, the judge, Ms Dada, discharged and acquitted the defendants.

Charges and key testimonies

EFCC had alleged in one of the counts that the defendants, with intent to defraud, obtained credit facility for Cleanserve Integrated Energy Solution in the sum of N350 million by false pretence from Wema Bank by falsely representing to them that the Board Resolution of Cleanserve Integrated Energy Solution dated 14 December 2010 as genuine, a representation they knew to be false.

In another count, the commission accused the defendants of using a false document titled “Board Resolution of Cleanserve Integrated Energy Solution Ltd,” dated 27 September 2010, to open an account with Keystone Bank Plc, formerly known as Bank PHB, as genuine.”

However, before the court’s judgement, one of the witnesses, Reginald Udunze, a retired police officer and forensic expert, dismissed the allegation of forgery in his evidence before the court.

According to him, he served in the Disputed Documents Unit of the Nigeria Police for 33 years before he retired in December 2016 as a deputy superintendent of police.

He said in his evidence before the court that there was no forgery.

“The handwritings and signatures at the relevant column of Dr. V. O. Ndubueze divulged co-natural characteristics of sameness consistent with symmetrical uninhibited fingers dexterity and also threats of or self — consciousness and lack of affectations devoid of simulation.

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“My further examination and comparisons of these handwritings and signatures as marked as earlier mentioned with each other in connotation, I found characteristic features of identity with them. My finding is, therefore, that the handwriting and signatures at the relevant column of Dr. V.O. Ndubueze on documents A, A4, A6, A8, A10, BS, C2, C, C6, C10, 10 and D were written and signed by one person.”

Another witness, a staff member of Bond Global Energy Projects Limited, Alima Yusuf, head of marketing, who the court subpoenaed, said she joined the company in 2016 and became the head of marketing in 2017.

She said, “Bond is into importation of refined Petroleum Products, PMS, Premium Motor Spirits i.e. Petrol, AGO, Automated Gas Oil; Diesel, HHK, Household Kerosene DPK, dual purpose kerosene, aviation fuel. We are into the LPG, Liquidified Natural Gas, and other petroleum products business.

“Cleanserve was taking the products on credit till 2019 when they stopped taking them and making payment. We took them to a civil court, and the judgement was in our favour. Exhibit P66 is the judgement. The Judgement sum is N4,618,935,683.13 (Billion). Counts 21-27, in this case, I say that there is no truth whatsoever in them.

“I also want to say that this matter has been going on since 2019, which is five years of inability to prove it. Sadly, there is no reason for the harassment, taking all the bank records and documents.”