Alleged N150m Bribe: Court grants Lagos big boy, Dr. Akintoye Akindele, N500m bail

A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Maitama on Tuesday, August 22, granted N500 million bail to a Lagos businessman, Dr. Akintoye Akindele, accused of attempting to bribe Police with N150 million.

The 49-year-old was docked on one count crim#nal charge by the Inspector General of Police through a Senior Advocate of Nigeria SAN, Mr Simon Lough.

Among others, Akindele who is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Duport Midstream Company was alleged to have offered police a bribe of N150 million to pervert the course of investigation in a petition against him.

The businessman was said in the charge to have dropped N50 million as part of the alleged bribe to the IGP’s team of investigators led by a Superintendent of Police, Ibrahim Ezekiel Sini.

According to the charge, the bribe was offered to allow police permit him to escape abroad and to write a favourable report for him after the investigation.

Akindele had been apprehended and was undergoing interrogation in respect of a petition submitted to the Police Chief by Summit Oil International Limited.

In the instant petition, the Summit Oil alleged that it was swindled of $5, 636, 397 and another N73, 543, 764. Akindele, however, pleaded not guilty when the charge was read to him, after which his lawyer applied for his bail.

Justice Hamza Muazu, in a ruling on Tuesday, rejected the request by the lawyer for the prosecution, Simon Lough SAN to further detain the defendant to enable the police conclude its investigation.

Justice Muazu agreed with the defence lawyer, Henry Eni-Otu that the offence, with which the defendant was charged, is ordinarily bailable. He granted Akindele bail to the tune of N500m with two sureties in like sum.

Justice Muazu, who is sitting as the court’s vacation judge, said one of the sureties must own a landed property within the jurisdiction and should be a resident of the Federal Capital Territory.

The judge ordered the defendant to deposit his international passport with the court and he should be remanded in prison until he meets his bail conditions.