Controversial Businessman Akintoye Akindele Allegedly Shuns Court, EFCC as He Travels Abroad
Controversial oil magnate and former Managing Director of Duport Midstream Company Limited, Mr. Akintoye Akindele, has allegedly refused to appear in court for his trial concerning the alleged diversion of $5,636,397.01 and N73,543,763.25 belonging to Summit Oil International Ltd. This situation has fueled speculations that Akindele, also the CEO of Atlantic Refineries and Chairman of Platform Capital, may have fled the country to evade arrest and trial by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Akindele was scheduled to appear before Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Wednesday, October 2, but he did not show up. Instead, he sent his lawyer, Mr. Akin Apara from Bolaji Ayorinde Chambers, to inform the court that he had an order from another court permitting him to travel abroad.
He is under investigation by the EFCC for alleged misappropriation of $35 million (approximately N56 billion) intended for the Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited (AIRPL) in Bayelsa State, yet he has declined to honor the agency’s invitations. The trial for the alleged fraud has been adjourned to November 21, 2024.
Notably, on May 9, 2024, Justice James Kolawole Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered that Akindele’s trial concerning the alleged $5.6 million fraud be transferred to the Lagos division of the court. Additionally, another case involving allegations of bribing the police with N150 million to stall his investigation is set to begin in Lagos on October 29, 2024.
In May, former House of Representatives member Israel Sunny-Goli petitioned the EFCC to investigate multi-million naira investments made by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), including the Atlantic Refinery project. Sunny-Goli disclosed that a full investment of $35 million was released in October 2020 for the Atlantic Refinery, which was expected to be a 2,000 bpd modular refinery with a jetty facility and a 2MW power plant, with a target completion period of 24 months at the Brass Free Trade Zone (FTZ).
He stated in the petition that “the project has stalled and has little or nothing to show for the disbursement made,” and identified Akindele, former NCDMB Executive Secretary Simbi Wabote, and Director of Finance and Personnel Management Isaac Yalah as principal suspects in the alleged scam.
“I have read in the media that Simbi Wabote, Isaac Yalah, and other top functionaries of the NCDMB have been interrogated and even detained by the EFCC. However, Akindele, the mastermind behind the alleged $35 million Atlantic Refinery scam, is yet to honor the EFCC’s invitation,” he remarked.
Akindele allegedly established the company with a share capital of N10 million in 2020, coinciding with the sealing of the $35 million refinery deal. Despite the EFCC’s previous invitations, he has opted to send his lawyer instead. Sources indicate that Akindele has traveled from Cape Town, South Africa, to Paris, France, and is believed to have made his last stop in London.
