The trial of two Indian nationals, a British citizen and two companies over an alleged $42.5 million rice import fraud involving Ecobank Plc suffered a setback on Thursday after the presiding judge of the Federal High Court in Lagos, Justice Akintayo Aluko, recused himself from the case following allegations of misconduct and bias.
The defendants, Prem Garg, Devashish Garg, Marcus Wade, Agrico Agbe Limited and Wilben Trade Limited, are facing a five-count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining by false pretence, cheating and conversion.
When the matter was called, none of the defendants was present in court.
Prince Damola Seriki appeared for the first, second and fourth defendants, while I.A. Akintaye held a watching brief for the nominal complainant. M.N. Enyi represented the third cited party, Standard Chartered Bank.
The Federal Government, through the Department of Public Prosecutions of the Federal Ministry of Justice, is prosecuting the defendants over allegations that they fraudulently obtained foreign exchange from Ecobank Plc for the importation of Indian parboiled rice into Nigeria.
According to the charge marked FHC/L/CR/51/2022, the defendants allegedly conspired between May and September 2015 to obtain $42,485,900 from the bank under the guise of financing rice importation transactions.
The prosecution alleged that the defendants first secured $22,485,900 in May 2015 and later obtained an additional $20 million in September of the same year on the same representation.
The Federal Government further claimed that the funds were not used for the intended transactions but were diverted and converted in breach of the terms governing the transactions.
The alleged offences are said to contravene Sections 422, 419A, 421 and 390 of the Criminal Code Act, Cap C38, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
Court documents identified Prem Garg and Devashish Garg as Indian nationals, while Marcus Wade, a British citizen, is listed as the Chairman of Wilben Trade Limited. Agrico Agbe Limited is a Nigerian company, while Wilben Trade Limited is incorporated in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
During proceedings, Justice Aluko addressed allegations contained in a petition accusing him of misconduct and bias in the handling of the matter.
The judge referred to the Court of Appeal decision in Adio v. FRN (2019) LPELR-46793 (CA), explaining that the appellate court did not prohibit a lawyer holding a watching brief from passing information to the court.
According to him, the decision only criticised situations where such counsel files formal court processes without obtaining leave of court.
Justice Aluko maintained that his conduct throughout the proceedings had been proper.
He recalled that on October 23, 2025, when both the prosecution and defence teams were absent from court, he directed that hearing notices be issued and served on defence counsel to ensure the matter progressed.
The judge suggested that the petition appeared to be aimed at frustrating and delaying the trial.
He also criticised what he described as repeated absences of defence counsel during proceedings.
Citing Rule 30 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners, Justice Aluko stressed that lawyers are under a professional obligation not to engage in conduct capable of obstructing or delaying the administration of justice.
Although he dismissed the allegations against him as unsubstantiated, Justice Aluko said he had decided to withdraw from the case in order to eliminate any perception of bias.
The judge stated that he had no personal interest in the matter or any of the more than 1,000 cases assigned to him.
He subsequently ordered that the case file be returned to the Administrative Judge of the Federal High Court for reassignment to another judge.
The development effectively stalls further proceedings in the high-profile case until a new judge is assigned to continue the trial.
