Ayodele Olalere
Attempts by the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of First Nation Airways, Kayode Odukoya, to avoid defending a N1.7 billion fraud case brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has been rebuffed by an Ikeja High Court.
The defendant had filed a no-case submission after the prosecution had closed its case on November 30, 2020, after calling five witnesses and tendering several documents to prove its case.
He was expected to open his defence but
his counsel, Edoka Onyeke, filed a no-case submission, arguing the defendant had no case to answer and urged the court to dismiss the case as well as discharge the defendant.
His submission however was countered by the prosecuting counsel, A.B.C. Ozioko, who argued that the prosecution had presented enough evidence against the defendant to warrant him to enter his defence and explain his role in the alleged fraud.
In her ruling on Monday, Justice Dada of the Special Offences Court, Ikeja, dismissed the no-case submission of the defendant and ordered the defendant to open his case on January 17 and 18, 2022.
According to the prosecution, Odukoya was dragged before the court on seven-count charge bordering on forgery, use of false document, perjury, stealing and obtaining credit by fraud contrary to sections 85(1), 86(1), 278(1)&(b), 285(1), 313(1)(a) &(b), 361(1)(a)& (b), 363 (1) and 364(1) of the criminal law of Lagos State of Nigeria 2011
He was charged alongside First Nation Airways Limited and Bellview Airlines Limited.
One of the counts reads: “Kayode Odukoya and First Nation Airways, on or about the 29th day of August, 2013 in Lagos, within the lkeja Judicial Division, by means of fraud, obtained the credit of N307,268,406.43 for yourselves from Skye Bank Plc (Now Polaris Bank Ltd) and made the bank to incur liability by presenting a Memorandum of Loss at Lagos State Certificate of Occupancy registered as No.33 at page 33 in Volume 1011 at the Lagos State Registry, Alausa, Ikeja In respect of property being and situate at No. 29 Oduduwa Street, lkeja GRA. Lagos State.”
Another count reads: “Kayode Odukoya, First Nation Airways Limited and Bellview Airlines Limited, on or about the 7th day of October, 2016 in Lagos within, the Lagos Judicial Division, dishonestly converted to your own use the sum of N1, 742,994,962.04 (One Billion, Seven Hundred and Forty-one Million, Nine Hundred and Ninety-four Thousand, Nine Hundred and Sixty-two Naira, Four Kobo) property of Skye Bank Plc.”
He had pleaded “not guilty” to the charges.
