The Court of Appeal in Lagos has postponed the hearing of Cletus Ibeto’s appeal challenging the jurisdiction of the State High Court in trying him for an alleged N4.8 billion fraud. The chairman of Ibeto Energy Development Company, Ibeto, had filed an appeal against the Lagos High Court’s jurisdiction.
Justice Muhammed Mustapha presided over the appellate court and adjourned the appeal until September 16 to await the outcome of settlement talks between Ibeto and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Ibeto, along with his companies, Ibeto Energy Development Company and Odoh Holdings Ltd, faces a 10-count charge including conspiracy, fraud, forgery, and fraudulent use of documents before the Lagos High Court, Ikeja.
The case took a turn when Justice Ismail Ijelu ordered Ibeto’s arrest after he failed to appear in court on multiple occasions. Dissatisfied with the court’s decision and alleging bias, Ibeto filed an appeal and wrote a petition against the judge, leading to the transfer of the case file to a new trial judge, Justice Oyindamola Ogala.
During the recent proceedings at the appeal court, Justice Mustapha, alongside other panel members, suspended the enforcement of the bench warrant issued against Ibeto.
This decision followed Ibeto’s lawyer, Chief Wole Olanipekun, and the EFCC’s counsel, Adebisi Adeniyi, informing the court of ongoing settlement talks. Adeniyi revealed that Ibeto had refunded approximately N1.7 billion to the EFCC and had been making payments in line with the settlement proposal.
Chief Olanipekun confirmed the ongoing negotiations but urged the court to vacate the bench warrant against his client. In response, Justice Mustapha suspended the enforcement of the arrest warrant, encouraging the parties to continue negotiations until the next adjourned date in September.
