Chief Cletus Ibeto is negotiating an out-of-court settlement with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), over a 10-count charge of alleged fraud.
Ibeto and his companies Ibeto Energy Development Company and Odoh Holdings Ltd are in court over an alleged N4.8 billion fraud.
Information about the deal being negotiated with the antigraft agency by the businessman was made public by Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, and Adebisi Adeniyi.
While Chief Olnipekun is the lawyer of Ibeto, Adeniyi is the legal representative of the EFCC.
The duo made the revelation while appealing to the three-man panel of the Court of Appeal on Tuesday, May 2024, to withdraw the bench warrant earlier granted by Justice I.O Ijelu of the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja who declared Ibeto wanted and ordered his arrest based on the application moved by counsel to the EFCC, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN.
Olanipekun and Adeniyi both told the court that the parties were in the process of settling the matter and that the appellant had refunded about N1.7 billion to the commission.
Upon the request of Ibeto’s lawyer based on the fact that there was an ongoing negotiation with the EFCC, Justice Muhammed Mustapha who presided over the court, and the other panel members namely, Justice Abdullahi Mahmud Bayero and Justice Paul Bassi, suspended the enforcement of the bench warrant issued on November 3, 2023, against the appellant by Justice Ijelu.
In a short ruling, Justice Mustapha held that “The bench warrant is now suspended, and we encourage parties to continue with the negotiations until the next adjourned date of September 16.”
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