A former Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, Fidet Edetanle, has asked the Lagos State Special Offences Court, Ikeja, to strike out the criminal charge brought against him, for being an abuse of court process.
He is standing trial for an alleged fraud involving $385,000 and ₦165,438,000.00, in the charge instituted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The defendant had been arraigned before Justice Rahman Oshodi on February 24, 2026, on a seven-count charge bordering on alleged abuse of office, money laundering, and unlawful enrichment by a public official.
He pleaded not guilty to the charge.
At the resumed hearing on Wednesday, the business of the day was for the hearing of the defendant’s application dated May 12, 2026.
The lead defence counsel, Adebowale Kamoru, told the court that the institution of the instant Charge, to the extent that
it concerns the same alleged offences and the assets/funds of the Defendant/Applicant upon which a final Forfeiture order has been granted by a Federal High Court, Abuja, is an abuse of court process.
”The Complainant in the Abuja suit is the same as the
Complainant in this Charge and the owner of the funds, said to be proceeds of crime, which were subjects of
the forfeiture order in the Abuja suit is the same Defendant in this Charge.
Secondly, the Bank Accounts warehousing the funds upon which the order of
final forfeiture was made in the Abuja suit are the same Accounts purportedly
investigated by the agency of the Complainant and which same Accounts are
subjects of this Charge.”
The senior counsel also argued that the Abuja suit and the instant Charge are
hinged on the same set of crimes and resulted from the same investigation
carried out by the EFCC.
He also contended that, the
unlawful activities or offences forming the basis upon which the final order of forfeiture was made in the Abuja suit are the same crimes/offences forming the
subject of this Charge.
He concluded his arguments by saying that the finding of the court in the instant Charge and the consequential sentencing that will follow have already been made on 9th March 2026 in the Abuja suit, initiated by the
same Complainant.
But, the EFCC urged the court to dismiss the defendants application for lacking in merit.
The counsel appearing for the agency, Abass Muhammed, said a non-conviction based Forfeiture proceedings, as the one concluded by the EFCC, is in line with the procedure stipulated by section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and other fraud related offences Act, 2006.
He added that the concluded forfeiture proceedings initiated under the said Act is civil in nature and not against the defendant or any other natural person. But that, it is against assets and funds reasonable suspected to be have been acquired with proceeds of crime.
”The forfeiture proceedings isn’t in anyway a finding of guilt against the defendant, but the instant charge is against him. The civil suit, which is an action in rem, can precede a criminal prosecution or even coexist with a criminal prosecution, as they are against different parties, no matter how related they are, in terms of one posessing the other, without being an abuse of court process as alleged.”
Following the arguments by both counsel, Justice Oshodi adjourned to July 3 to deliver his ruling on the application of the defendant.
