Justice Oyindamola Ogala of the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja, today, struck out the alleged N4.8 billion fraud charge instituted against the embattled Chairman of Ibeto Energy Development Company, Chief Cletus Ibeto, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Justice Ogala struck out the charge after she was informed by the EFCC counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), that the businessman had refunded N3.2 billion of the money he was accused of having stolen from his alleged victim, Chief Daniel Chukwudozie by the EFCC.

The anti-graft agency had filed a 10-count charge of conspiracy, fraud, forgery, and fraudulent use of documents against Ibeto and his companies Ibeto Energy Development Company and Odoh Holdings Limited.

However, the arraignment of the defendant has been stalled on several occasions due to his failure to appear in court, This prompted the former trial judge, Justice Ismail Ijelu, to accede to the prosecution’s request on November 3, 2023, to order the arrest of the businessman for allegedly refusing to appear to take his plea despite many undertakings by his lawyers to produce him in court.

However, the case file was resigned to Justice Ogala in February 2024 by the Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Kazeem Alogba, after the defendants accused Justice Ijelu of bias and challenged the court’s jurisdiction to hear the case.

At the resumed hearing of the case, Jacobs (SAN) informed the court that the defendants and the complainant had met with the EFC and resolved to settle the matter out of court. After listening to the lawyers, Justice Ogala struck out the charge.