Absence of defence counsel stalls Ajudua's $5.9m fraud trial

By -
(Nigeria) The trial of Fred Ajudua was on Monday stalled due to the absence of his counsel, Mr Olalekan Ojo.
Ajudua is standing trial for allegedly defrauding a former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Ishaya Bamaiyi, of $5.9 million (about N1 billion).
He is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC before Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye of a Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja.
The defendant was arraigned on March 11 on a 14-count charge of conspiracy and obtaining money by false pretences.
At the resumption of proceedings on Monday, Ajudua told the court that he had some unresolved issues with his counsel which might have led to his absence.
The EFCC counsel,  also informed the court that the initial charge against Ajudua had been amended.
Counsel said the complainant (Bamaiyi) and some other prosecution witnesses were in court to testify against Ajudua.
However, the amended charge could not be read to Ajudua because he had no legal representation in court.
The judge consequently adjourned the matter to July 4 for his re-arraignment.
In the initial charge, the EFCC alleged that Ajudua conspired with others now at large to perpetrate the fraud between November 2004 and June 2005.
According to the EFCC, the defendant defrauded Bamaiyi while they were both on remand at Kirikiri Prison in Lagos over separate alleged criminal charges.
The anti-graft agency said Ajudua obtained the money from Bamaiyi by claiming that it represented the professional fees charged by Chief Afe Babalola, SAN, to handle his case.
He is also alleged to have claimed that the money would help to facilitate Bamaiyi's release from prison.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

UBTH @50: Obaseki hails institution’s role in strengthening Edo healthcare

By -
Image
(Nigeria) Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, has commended the staff and management of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, UBTH, for their unwavering commitment, dedication, and hard work in providing high-quality healthcare services to the people of Edo State and Nigeria in the past fifty years. Obaseki, at a dinner organized in honour of the Committee of Chief Medical Directors of Nigeria, at the Government House, Benin City, reassured the government’s continuous partnership and collaboration with the federal government-owned health institution to strengthen the health system and ensure quality health delivery to Edo people. The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Philip Shaibu, reeled out the gains of the government’s reforms in the health sector, commending the medical centre for bolstering the government’s efforts at transforming Edo State into a health hub. He said, "We came into a wilderness where you have to cut a part for yourself and fix it. We held
Read more

NBC has no powers to impose fine on broadcast stations --Court

By -
Image
(Nigeria) The National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, has been restrained by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, from imposing fines on broadcast stations in the country. Trial judge in the matter, Justice James Omotosho also set aside the N500,000 fines imposed on March 1, 2019, on each of 45 broadcast stations. The court made the orders in its judgment a suit by the Incorporated Trustees of Media Rights Agenda, MRA, which had sued the NBC. Justice Omotosho held that the NBC, not being a court of law, had no power to impose sanctions as punishment on broadcast stations. The court further held that the Nigeria Broadcasting Code, which gives the commission the power to impose sanction, is in conflict with Section 6 of the Constitution that vested judicial power in the court of law. He said the court would not sit idle and watch a body imposing fine arbitrarily without recourse to the law. He said that the commission did not comply with the law when it sat as a complainant and at
Read more