Lagos Businessman, Dr Akintoye Akindele Mets N500m Bail Conditions- Associates, Friends Deny Media Report

By Femi Babalola

Associates and friends of a Lagos based businessman Dr Akintoye Akindele have denied a media that  the businessman is still  in Kuje Correctional centre in Abuja for not meeting N500 million bail condition.

The associates and friends, who spoke with theroyaltimes.com on the condition of anonymity, said Akindele met the bail conditions laid out by the judge, Justice Hamza Muazu, during his arraignment on Tuesday, August 22, 2023, just as they also added that Akindele is presently in Lagos with his family.

According to them, the media report is a figment of imagination, baseless and the handiwork of Akindele’s rivals in Duport Midstream Company Limited, who are bent on taken over the company from him at all cost.

They also denied the media report that claimed Akindele conspired with others and diverted the sum of $5,636,397 and another N73,543,764 belonging to the company, just as they also denied the report that Akindele offered a N150 million bribe to police officers investigating his case.

“For the past couples of weeks, campaign of calumny in both traditional and social media, has been waged against Akindele by his enemies who are doing everything within their capacity to stain the name and reputation of the astute businessman,” one of Akindele’s associates said.

Another one added’ We all know those who are behind the sponsor of the story in the medium. They are singing the songs of the enemies of Akindele in the company. Akindele’s enemies are behind all the stories against Akindele in the media of late. By the special grace of God, Akindele will survive the media onslaught against him.”

A friend of Akindele, in his own view, said like others above, the media war to tarnish war against will soon die a natural death immediate he is declared innocent of all fraud allegations leveled against him by his enemies. Akindele is innocent of all the allegations leveled against him. There is a popular saying that says ‘He Who Laughs last, Laughs Best.’ Akindele will laugh last against all his enemies. “

Meanwhile, in another related development, a chief magistrate court of sitting in Nasarawa State has thrown out, set aside a warrant of arrest and remand against a Lagos based prominent businessman and  the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Duport Midstream Company Limited, Dr Akintoye Akindele.

In Suit No: CMC/MG/CR/175/2023,the court on August 23, 2023, gave the order in the case between Akindele (defendant) and the Inspector General of Police (the complainant). 

A copy of the court order was made available by one of the lawyers of the defendant, Pelumi Olajengbesi to the royaltimes.com

Recall that Akindele, through his lawyers, had approached the court praying for an order to set aside a warrant of arrest and a warrant of commitment to prison on remand earlier made for being a nullity on the grounds that the court lacked jurisdiction and non-disclosure as well as suppression of material facts.

The court subsequently ordered the “setting aside and discharging the warrant of arrest, warrant of search and warrant of commitment to prison on remand against the defendant (Dr Akintoye Akindele).”

Speaking on behalf of his client, Olajengbesi said, “The implication of the court order is to nullify the basis upon which he was arrested in the first place which means that the arrest and search were wrongfully done without proper order from the court. 

“The standard in our criminal jurisprudence is investigation before arrest. It is worrisome that the Nigeria Police Force will have to approach a magistrate court in Nasarawa State where the court has no jurisdiction to obtain such a warrant, and after the court said it lacked jurisdiction on the matter and invited the police to defend it, the police failed to show up having recognised their error in the whole unnecessary drama.”

Akindele has been singing like a canary to the ears of Nigerians that his current ordeal is as a result of a business dispute he had with the family of the late MKO Abiola.

According to the prominent businessman, his business rivals  are trying to weave unfound fraud allegations around him through cronies, describing all fraud allegations against him as untrue and figment of imagination.