N22.8bn Fraud: Court Adjourns Amosu, Others’ Trial To June 14
Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday adjourned the ongoing trial of former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Amosu Nunayon Adesola, and two other Air Force Chiefs, who are being tried over alleged N22. 8 billion fraud, to June 14.
Amosu, was arraigned on June 29 last year by the EFCC alongside two senior serving Air Force officers, Air Vice Marshal Jacob Bola Adigun and Air Commodore Gbadebo Owodunni Olugbenga and seven companies before Justice Mohammed Idris.
Companies named in the charge are Delfina Oil and Gas Ltd, Mcallan Oil And Gas Ltd, Hebron Housing and Properties Company Ltd, Trapezites BDC, Fonds and Pricey Ltd, Deegee Oil and Gas Ltd, Timsegg Investment Ltd and Solomon Health Care Ltd.
The EFCC accused them of conspiracy, stealing, money laundering, concealing of proceeds of crime and conversion of funds belonging to the Nigerian Airforce to their personal use around March 5, 2014 in Lagos.
They were also accused of concealing “proceeds of crime” and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) (Amendment) Act, 2012 and punishable under Section 17(a).
However, the defendants had pleaded not guilty to the charges, a development which made the trial judge, Justice Mohammed Idris to grant Amosun, Adigun and Olugbenga bail in the sum of N500m each with two sureties in like sum.
During Thursday’s proceedings, the prosecution had sought to tender three letters from United Bank of Africa (UBA), in support of its case against the three Airforce Chiefs.
However, the defendants’ lawyers, which comprises of Chief Bolaji Ayorinde, Mr. Norrison Quakers, Oluwakemi Balogu, and Rotimi Ogunesan, all Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) had opposed the admissibility of the said letters, on the ground that one of them is not included in the Proof-of-Evidence served on them, while some pages of the other two are missing.
The defence team had urged the court to mark the letters sought to be tender as ”tendered but rejected’.
Responding to the defendants’ submissions, EFCC lawyer, Rotimi Oyedepo, had pleaded with the court not to mark the letters as ”tendered and rejected’.
He rather urged the court to allow the prosecution to attach the missing pages to the Proof-of-Evidence and serve same on the defence.
He equally pleaded with the court to allow the prosecution to front load a letter dated February 2, 2016, which was not included in the Proof-of-Evidence, and serve same on the defence.
However, in his ruling on Friday, Justice Idris held after checking the court records, it was discovered that the missing pages in the UBA’s letters dated March 7, and April 18, 2016, are indeed missing, and ordered the prosecution to produce the missing page and serve same on the defence, and retender it.
But on the UBA’s letter dated February 5, 2016, the trial judge after citing plethora of authorities, said since the prosecution had failed to include it in the Proof-of-Evidence, it cannot at this stage of trial tender it.
Consequently, the judge dismissed prosecution’s application to serve the defence with the letter and marked the letter ‘tendered and rejected’.
