In a significant legal development, the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Abuja has dismissed all criminal charges against Rev. Dr. Israel Adelani Akanji, former resident pastor of First Baptist Church, Garki, Abuja, and five co-defendants. The charges pertained to an alleged N620 million fraud involving conspiracy, forgery, and criminal misappropriation of church funds.
Justice J.A. Aina delivered the ruling, which stemmed from a motion filed by the defense seeking to quash the five-count charge brought against the defendants by the Nigeria Police Force. The defense argued that the charges were baseless and lacked substantive evidence.
The case, marked CR/1045/24, had previously faced delays due to the prosecution's absence in court, notably on March 20, 2025, when the lead counsel cited commitments at the National Assembly as the reason for requesting an adjournment. The defense, led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Adeniyi Akintola, expressed readiness to proceed and highlighted the prosecution's failure to serve the defense with the adjournment request.
The charges alleged that between 2012 and 2021, the defendants conspired to forge an amended version of the church's constitution, falsely attributing it to the late Barrister Akin Aina, the church's legal adviser and secretary of the Board of Trustees. Additionally, the prosecution claimed that the defendants misappropriated N620 million of church funds for personal use.
Justice Aina's decision to quash the charges effectively ends the legal proceedings against Rev. Akanji and his co-defendants, bringing closure to a case that has drawn significant attention within the religious community.
For more details on the court proceedings, refer to the original reports:
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