A Lagos State Special Offences Court has discharged and acquitted the Chairman of Cleanserve, Azubuike Ishiekwene, and the Managing Director/CEO, Olalekan Abdul, of fraud and forgery charges brought against them by a nominal complainant.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had arraigned the defendants on a 26-count charge, including conspiracy, forgery, use of false documents, possession of fraudulent documents, stealing, and unauthorized document creation.
The case was initiated by Mr. Chris Ndulue, who claimed to be a director of Cleanserve despite not being listed in the Corporate Affairs Commission records or possessing a valid proxy.
Both Ishiekwene and Abdul pleaded not guilty to the charges following their arraignment on January 30, 2020.
The trial, which lasted five years under suit number ID/11126C/2019, saw the prosecution call nine witnesses, while the defense presented four witnesses.
Leading the defense were Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika for Abdul and Dr. Muiz Banire for Ishiekwene.
During the trial, the defense challenged the EFCC’s handling of the case, alleging misconduct.
They claimed an EFCC operative solicited a $20,000 bribe in 2019 to halt the investigation, acknowledging that the allegations against Ishiekwene and Abdul were baseless.
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Following a sting operation ordered by then-EFCC Secretary, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, the corrupt operative was apprehended.
However, the case took a controversial turn when then-EFCC Chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, dismissed the sting operation’s findings, redeployed the implicated operative, and escalated charges against the defendants.
The defense further alleged that the prosecution was acting on behalf of Ndulue, a former Managing Director of Arik Air, who had bribed former Deputy Inspector General of Police, Michael Ogbizi, to use police force to detain Ishiekwene and Abdul.
Ndulue admitted to the bribery under oath in court. During their detention, Ogbizi installed Ndulue as the “managing director” of Cleanserve.
After reviewing the case, Lagos State Attorney-General (AG), Mr. Lawal Pedro (SAN), intervened and took over prosecution.
The AG’s office subsequently filed a notice of discontinuance under Section 211 (1) (C) of the Constitution. Initially, EFCC counsel Mr. Franklin Ofoma objected, but later withdrew 20 out of the 26 charges.
On October 24, 2024, the EFCC filed an amended charge, ultimately leading to the dismissal of all counts against Ishiekwene under Section 155 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL), 2021.
The remaining charges against Abdul were transferred to the jurisdiction of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Mr. Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), who assumed control of the case on January 30, 2025.
The AGF then moved to withdraw and discontinue the matter under Section 108 (1) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.
On March 5, 2025, Justice Mojisola Dada delivered her judgment, discharging and acquitting both defendants under Section 73 (1) and (11) of ACJL, 2021.
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The EFCC had alleged that the defendants fraudulently obtained a N350 million credit facility for Cleanserve Integrated Energy Solution from Wema Bank using a falsified Board Resolution.
Another charge accused them of using a fake Board Resolution to open an account with Keystone Bank (formerly Bank PHB). However, forensic expert Chief Reginald Udunze, a retired police officer, dismissed the forgery allegations.
In his testimony, he confirmed that handwriting analysis showed no signs of forgery.
Further exoneration came from Alima Yusuf, the head of marketing at Bond Global Energy Projects Limited, who testified under subpoena that Cleanserve had been a client until 2019, after which Bond pursued a civil case against them and won.
She refuted claims of financial misconduct related to Counts 21-27 of the EFCC’s case, stating that the matter had dragged on for five years without substantiation.
In a related development, the legal firm representing Cleanserve Integrated Energy Solution Limited, led by Babajide Koku & Co., withdrew from representing Vincent Onyebuchi Ndubueze and John Anosike in an appeal (CA/LAG/697/2023).
The firm disassociated itself from suits filed by another legal representative, alleging they were filed without its knowledge.
Court records also revealed that the Court of Appeal had previously appointed its Deputy Court Registrar (DCR) as Receiver/Manager of Cleanserve.
However, Ndulue had secured conflicting high court orders to override the appeal court’s decision.
This latest ruling marks the conclusion of a prolonged legal battle, with Ishiekwene and Abdul officially cleared of all charges.
