Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court in Lagos has struck out a criminal charge of stealing brought against businessman Sikiru Olawale Olayinka and his company, Excampo Nigeria Limited, citing the prosecution’s failure to diligently pursue the case.
The judge dismissed the one-count charge on Tuesday after Olayinka’s counsel, Adegboyega Erinle, argued that the prosecution had failed to call any of its nine listed witnesses since the matter was filed.
Olayinka, Chief Executive Officer of Excampo Nigeria Limited, was arraigned alongside his company by the Police Special Fraud Unit in June 2022. He faced allegations of stealing $123,000, which was reportedly transferred into his company’s Zenith Bank account in error and later converted to N45 million.
The prosecution alleged that the offences contravened Section 15(2)(b) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended in 2012). Olayinka pleaded not guilty and attended all court proceedings.
At Tuesday’s hearing, Erinle urged the court to strike out the case, contending that the prosecution had made no effort to present a single witness despite multiple adjournments. He further noted that his client had demonstrated good faith by refunding a substantial portion of the disputed funds during settlement discussions with the nominal complainant.
The prosecutor requested yet another adjournment, citing the difficulty in locating several witnesses who had left the bank branch where the alleged incident occurred.
After reviewing the case file, Justice Aluko rejected the request and struck out the charge, citing lack of diligent prosecution, and discharged Olayinka of all allegations.
