A special offences court in Ikeja has directed the return of $20,000 earlier tendered as evidence in the now-dismissed fraud case against Olalekan Abdul, managing director and CEO of Cleanserve Integrated Energy Solution Limited.
Justice Mojisola Dada gave the ruling on April 30, also lifting restrictions on bank accounts belonging to Abdul’s bail guarantors, Jemilat Oluremi Yusuf-Sada and Ayanyemi Ayantola, which held a ₦20 million deposit.
The judge stated: “An order granting delivery and/or restoration to the defendant of the sum of USD USD$20,000:00 (twenty thousand United States dollars) property of the defendant (Olalekan Abdul) tendered and admitted as Exhibit B at the trial proceeding of 8/3/2023 and ordered to be held and kept in escrow Domiciliary Account in Polaris Bank, Ikeja, in the name of the Chief Registrar of the High Court of Lagos State in pending completion of this case (now concluded) be and is hereby granted.”
In January 2020, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned Abdul alongside Azubuike Ishiekwene, a journalist and chairman of Cleanserve, over 26 counts including conspiracy, forgery, and theft.
They were accused of conspiring with two others still at large, Adeyinka Adewole and Morakinyo Bolanle, to fraudulently obtain ₦350 million and ₦1 billion from Wema Bank.
The EFCC alleged the use of a forged document titled Board Resolutions of Cleanserve Integrated Energy Solutions Ltd dated April 9, 2018, to secure the funds.
Abdul was also accused of presenting a false board resolution to the bank on December 14, 2010, to obtain credit facilities.
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Both defendants denied the allegations and filed no-case submissions in August 2023, arguing that the EFCC had failed to provide credible evidence linking them to any wrongdoing.
Abdul told the court he was being targeted by EFCC officials whom he had accused of soliciting a $20,000 bribe, an allegation the agency denied.
Despite this, the judge ruled on November 17, 2023, that a prima facie case had been established and ordered the trial to proceed. Nine witnesses testified for the prosecution, while four appeared for the defence.
Eventually, the Lagos attorney-general took over the case following a review. Before this, the court had recovered the $20,000 from EFCC custody and admitted it as an exhibit.
During the investigation, an EFCC operative was reportedly caught requesting a bribe in 2019 to suppress the case, which he allegedly said lacked merit.
After taking over, the Lagos attorney-general filed a notice to discontinue the charges. Although EFCC counsel Franklin Ofoma initially opposed the move, the commission later agreed to withdraw 20 of the 26 charges.
A revised charge sheet filed in October 2024 cleared Ishiekwene, who was formally discharged under section 155 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL), 2021. Abdul, however, faced one remaining count under federal law.
Before Abdul could be re-arraigned, the office of the attorney-general of the federation (AGF) stepped in and filed to discontinue the case under section 108 (1) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.
Justice Dada formally acquitted and discharged Abdul on March 5, 2025.