N1.47 B FRAUD: COURT STRIKES OUT SUIT AS EFCC FAILS TO PRODUCE INNOSON

IKEJA, Lagos, Nigeria – A Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja, today struck out a suit filed against Innoson Motors and Chief Executive of the company, Mr. Innocent Chukwuma over N1.47 billion fraud ,forgery and other infractions.

Justice Olusola Williams struck out the suit as a result of inability of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) to produce in court the Managing Director of Innoson Motors, Mr. Innocent Chukwuma even after issuance of a bench warrant.

The EFCC on about five occasions failed to produce him in court and in the process stalling arraignment. In one of the instances, the EFCC told the court that Innocent Chukwuma was evading service.

While delivering the ruling,  Justice Williams said, ” the prosecution is well aware that has the duty to produce a defendant in court,  this court is not inclined to continue to waste the tax of Lagos tax payers. This court cannot continue to waste precious time calling a case that is going nowhere. It is a criminal matter that can be instituted anytime. I advice that the prosecution gets its act together before coming to court. I am inclined to strike out this case and I so do”, Olusola Williams said in annoyance.

Earlier,  the prosecuting counsel Zainab Ettu, who represented the anti-graft agency in court today said the agency has been unable to effect the arrest of the 2nd defendant in order to physically serve him and that he has been hiding from operatives of the agency. 

“I think at this stage while we still pursue the arrest of the defendant, I think it behooves on the defence counsel being ministers at the temple of justice to carry out their duty to the court to ensure that they produce their client in court because they took brief from him and they can tell when who briefed them can be in court. They filed multiple applications but they cannot produce their client in court. We ask for an adjournment to produce the 2nd defendant in court, no matter what he cannot be above the law. We already have his warrant of arrest when the case was before Justice Mojisola Dada “, she said.

Responding, counsel to the first defendant, Professor Joseph Macarthy Mbaduga said the defendants in this matter are being charged at the Federal High Court in Ikoyi in charge number FHC/L/565C/2015 in respect of the same subject matter and transactions in this particular charge and being prosecuted by the AGF. ”

“The charge is still pending and some facts in the case have been forwarded to the Supreme Court, while it is pending, the EFCC commenced this charge and never served any of the parties but we saw a media publication that the EFCC had filed a charge in respect of the matter at a Lagos High court. ”

“Going by this,  we are raising a preliminary objection dated 15th of January and filed on the same date as being an abuse of court processes and that the charge has not been served and going by the norm as laid by the appellate court that it is the duty of the prosecution to produce the defendant in court and until then the court cannot exercise any jurisdiction over the defendant and the court cannot compel counsels to produce the defendants,” he argued.

But the prosecution held that for any application to be treated on behalf of a defendant, he should be present in court. “They can then decide if they want to raise an objection before he takes his plea. A fugitive cannot be asking for reliefs from a court he has not submitted himself to. He is very much aware of the court proceedings but refuses to submit himself to court and instead engages counsels to represent him. Although it is not the duty of the defence counsel to produce the defendant in court, it is highly unethical and unprofessional for them not to advise their clients properly to appear in court for justice to be done properly. ”

The EFCC had in a charge dated 30 November, 2017 and filed at a Lagos High Court accused Innoson of obtaining containers of motorcycles spare parts by false pretences between 2009 and July 2011 in Lagos, ‘with intent to defraud’. The goods, said to be property of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, were allegedly obtained from Mitsui O.S.K Lines Limited in Apapa.

The anti-graft agency claims that Innocent Chukwuma and Charles Chukwuma, “with intent to defraud induced the staff of Mitsui O.S.K and Maersk Line Limited to deliver”, to them through their clearing agents, the motor cycle spare parts, moulds of spare parts and steel structures and raw materials called polyvinlchlorid, imported from China.

The charge said the accused falsely pretended that they were authorised by GTB to clear the goods and take delivery of them. EFCC had on Tuesday arrested Innoson in Enugu, stirring some controversy that the arrest bore some ethnic motive and that the agency should not have waded into a dispute between GTB and the businessman.

Central to this was the story that the parties were locked in a dispute over illegal deductions from Innoson’s accounts by the GTB, with Innoson claiming that the bank was indebted to him and his company to the tune of billions of naira. In press and TV interviews, he said he had gotten judgement at both lower and appelate courts and that the GTB has an appeal at the Supreme Court. GTB responded tersely that it would not join issues with the businessman as the issues between them are in the court.

The EFCC in releasing Innoson on bail Wednesday, explained that he was arrested after he refused to honour invitations by the Commission. He had been arrested by the commission before and granted administrative bail. But he reneged on the bail and his surety could also not be found.

The agency said Innoson and his brother, Charles Chukwuma (who is still at large), were being investigated by the Insurance and Capital Market Fraud Section of the Commission’s office in Lagos over matters bordering on N1.47billion fraud and forgery and other infractions. He was also alleged to have used forged documents to secure tax waivers.

‘Unfortunately the industrialist resisted arrest and stirred controversy by bringing six truck-loads of thugs to block the entrance to his Plot W1, Industrial Layout, Abakaliki Road, Emeni, Enugu, home.

“This was after he initially misled the Police Command by informing them that his home had been invaded by armed robbers and kidnappers despite the fact that operatives of the Commission duly identified themselves to policemen guarding his home.

“His unruly thugs encircled and manhandled operatives of the Commission who had gone to effect the arrest. Consequently, a distress call was sent to the Commission’s Enugu Office for reinforcement. In all of this, the Commission’s operatives acted with decorum and civility.

“No one was manhandled or assaulted by the EFCC team, and not a single shot was fired, despite the provocation”. No one was manhandled or assaulted by the EFCC team, and not a single shot was fired, despite the provocation”.