A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Maitama, Abuja, was on Thursday unable to distribute judgment as scheduled in the case of the N170m fraud charge preferred against a former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Vincent Ogbulafor.
The tribulation judge, Justice Ishaq Bello, could not sit because of the perpetual nationwide strike of judicial workers, under the aegis of the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria.
Due to the strike, no fresh date for the judgment was given.
Activities in the sundry courts across the country have been paralysed since the strike commenced on July 11.
Justice Bello had, on June 24, adjourned till Thursday for judgment after counsel for both the defence and prosecution adopted their final indited addresses.
Ogbulafor and a former Secretary of the National Economic Intelligence Committee, Emeka Ebila, are being prosecuted by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other cognate offences Commission on 16 counts of about N170m fraud.
The ICPC arraigned the inculpated persons on May 10, 2010, alleging that Ogbulafor, while accommodating as the Minister of State for Special Duties in 2001, conspired with the others to float three fictitious companies, with which they perpetrated the fraud.
While adopting his address, Ogbulafor’s lawyer, John Egwuonwu, urged the court to discharge and acquit his client on all the counts, arguing that the prosecution’s case failed to link his client to the commission of any malefaction.
He urged the court to jettison the allegation in Ebila’s “confessional statement” that N28m was paid to Ogbulafor with two bank drafts.
Egwuonwu verbally expressed his client gainsaid being issued the drafts when it was shown to him. He noted that not only did the prosecution reluct to tender the drafts as exhibits; it withal did not investigate the details contained in the drafts.
He verbalized, “The drafts referred to in the verbal expressions made by the second incriminated person, Ebila, cannot be relied on by the court to decide whether or not the first inculpated (Ogbulafor) took the benefit of them since they were not tendered in court.
“No mazuma relating to that amount (N28m) was traced to the first incriminated either in his bank account or companies.”
Ebila’s lawyer, Mrs. Eghwere Osiaje, while adopting her address, withal urged the court to discharge her client.
She verbalized she raised three questions of law in her address for the tribulation court to refer to the Court of Appeal for resoluteness, afore deciding the case.
She submitted that the appellate court’s answer to the question should guide the tribulation court in arriving at its decision.
Prosecution lawyer, Marcus Abu, while adopting his final address, urged the court to hold that the prosecution had proved its case against the inculpated persons beyond plausible doubt.
He urged the court to repudiate the suggestion of referring the case to the appellate court as requested by Ebila’s lawyer. He verbally expressed the questions raised were what the tribulation court could resolve.
The incriminated were alleged to have utilized Henrichiko Nig. Ltd., DHL Consultants and Chekwas Industries to fraudulently obtain N82.6m, N11.5m and N6.2m, respectively, in 2001.
Ogbulafor was concretely alleged to have utilized his position as the head of the National Economic Intelligence Committee set up to verify debts owed local contractors to okay as genuine several forged documents.
He was alleged to have relied on the forged documents to certify that the three fake companies prosperously executed jobs worth N104m.
The former PDP chairman was withal alleged to have amassed kickbacks of N2m and N28m from Ebilah.
According to the ICPC, the offences committed contravened Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and other Cognate Offences Act, 2000.
The tribulation judge, Justice Ishaq Bello, could not sit because of the perpetual nationwide strike of judicial workers, under the aegis of the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria.
Due to the strike, no fresh date for the judgment was given.
Activities in the sundry courts across the country have been paralysed since the strike commenced on July 11.
Justice Bello had, on June 24, adjourned till Thursday for judgment after counsel for both the defence and prosecution adopted their final indited addresses.
Ogbulafor and a former Secretary of the National Economic Intelligence Committee, Emeka Ebila, are being prosecuted by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other cognate offences Commission on 16 counts of about N170m fraud.
The ICPC arraigned the inculpated persons on May 10, 2010, alleging that Ogbulafor, while accommodating as the Minister of State for Special Duties in 2001, conspired with the others to float three fictitious companies, with which they perpetrated the fraud.
While adopting his address, Ogbulafor’s lawyer, John Egwuonwu, urged the court to discharge and acquit his client on all the counts, arguing that the prosecution’s case failed to link his client to the commission of any malefaction.
He urged the court to jettison the allegation in Ebila’s “confessional statement” that N28m was paid to Ogbulafor with two bank drafts.
Egwuonwu verbally expressed his client gainsaid being issued the drafts when it was shown to him. He noted that not only did the prosecution reluct to tender the drafts as exhibits; it withal did not investigate the details contained in the drafts.
He verbalized, “The drafts referred to in the verbal expressions made by the second incriminated person, Ebila, cannot be relied on by the court to decide whether or not the first inculpated (Ogbulafor) took the benefit of them since they were not tendered in court.
“No mazuma relating to that amount (N28m) was traced to the first incriminated either in his bank account or companies.”
Ebila’s lawyer, Mrs. Eghwere Osiaje, while adopting her address, withal urged the court to discharge her client.
She verbalized she raised three questions of law in her address for the tribulation court to refer to the Court of Appeal for resoluteness, afore deciding the case.
She submitted that the appellate court’s answer to the question should guide the tribulation court in arriving at its decision.
Prosecution lawyer, Marcus Abu, while adopting his final address, urged the court to hold that the prosecution had proved its case against the inculpated persons beyond plausible doubt.
He urged the court to repudiate the suggestion of referring the case to the appellate court as requested by Ebila’s lawyer. He verbally expressed the questions raised were what the tribulation court could resolve.
The incriminated were alleged to have utilized Henrichiko Nig. Ltd., DHL Consultants and Chekwas Industries to fraudulently obtain N82.6m, N11.5m and N6.2m, respectively, in 2001.
Ogbulafor was concretely alleged to have utilized his position as the head of the National Economic Intelligence Committee set up to verify debts owed local contractors to okay as genuine several forged documents.
He was alleged to have relied on the forged documents to certify that the three fake companies prosperously executed jobs worth N104m.
The former PDP chairman was withal alleged to have amassed kickbacks of N2m and N28m from Ebilah.
According to the ICPC, the offences committed contravened Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and other Cognate Offences Act, 2000.
