Justice Modupe Osho Adebiyi of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court on Wednesday received three documents in the bribery trial of the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of Duport Midstream Company Limited, Mr Akintoye Akindele.
Documents including the petition by Summit Oil International Ltd to the Inspector General of Police (IG), Mr Akindele’s original statement to the police and the motion filed at the Nasarawa State High Court were accepted and marked as Exhibits A2, A3 and A4 respectively.
The court accepted the document during the resumption of cross-examination of the first prosecution witness (PW1), Superintendent of Police (SP), Ibrahim Ezekiel Sini.
Recall that on February 28, the judge adjourned for the continuation of witness examination by the defence counsel, Mr Funmi Quadri (SAN).
Akindele is on trial on one count of bribing a police officer to obstruct an investigation into the alleged embezzlement of $5,636,397.01 belonging to Summit Oil International Ltd.
At Wednesday’s hearing, the senior counsel confronted the witness with petition documents which show that according to the petitioner, his client’s liabilities amount to $5.6 million and 73 million naira. The $5.6 million is said to be debt while the 73 million naira is said to be repayment costs.
She alleged that during her detention, Sini and her team had several meetings with the defendant and on one occasion the defendant asked her how she intended to settle her debt to Summit Oil.
The witness also denied that the accused had used a police-owned computer to write letters promising to repay the debt.
Mrs Quadri then filed Akindele’s original statement to the IG in which the defendant alleged that the money transferred to the account provided by Sini was to demonstrate his intention to pay part of the $5.6 million and 73 million naira owed to the petitioner (Summit Oil International Ltd).
He said the 50 million naira he transferred to Brisdon Nigeria Ltd, an account allegedly provided by Sini, was to demonstrate his intention to pay debts of $5.6 million and 73 million naira.
Meanwhile, Mr Sini denied that the police had set up a separate committee to investigate the N50 million bribery allegation because he was deemed an accomplice. According to witnesses, it was he who accused Mr Akindele of bribery, so “we cannot be judges in our own case.”
At the end of the cross-examination, Justice Osho Adebiyi adjourned till April 18 for the police to call their next witness.
The one charge, marked CR/595/2023, is as follows:
“You, Akintoye Akindele, male, aged 49 years, the MD of Duport Midstream Company Limited, D2 Mambira Close Osborne Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos State/ “The CEO, whilst under investigation by SP Ibrahim Ezekiel Sini and team on a petition filed by Summit Oil International Limited to the Inspector General of Police FIB for the alleged misappropriation of US$5,636,397.01 million and NGN73,543,763.25, between the 5th and 9th of August, 2023, at Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Court, offered a bribe to SP Ibrahim Sini, a public servant, in the amount of One Hundred and Fifty Million Naira (One Hundred and Fifty Million Naira) and made a part payment of Fifty Million Naira (Five Hundred and Fifty Million Naira) and authorized you to attempt to flee the country and to be ordered to write a report in your favour, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 118 of the Criminal Code.”
