•Court rules on alleged $1.6m fraud suit April 12
A middle woman, adorning a black hijab and identified as the wife of the embattled DCP Abba Kyari, yesterday, collapsed at the Federal High Court, Abuja, seeing the super cop and six others taken into custody by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) after Justice Emeka Nwite fixed March 28 for determination of the bail application filed by their counsel.
The judge decided on the date after taking arguments from both the prosecution and defence lawyers in requests urging the defendants’ release.
Counsel to first and second defendants had prayed the court to grant their clients bail on fundamental rights grounds to prepare for defence.
But the NDLEA legal representative, Joseph N. Sunday, opposed the motion, arguing that Kyari, who hitherto headed the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT), would jump justice if released from custody.
The notary for the third defendant, on the other hand, withdrew the bail application for his client, predicting the decision on a counter-motion he needed to be well acquainted with.
IN a related development, Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of a Lagos Special Offences Court, Ikeja has fixed April 12 for ruling on the “No Case Submission” filed by an oil marketer, Ayodeji Ibrahim Oluokun, in alleged issuance of dud cheques worth $1.6 million.
The judge chose the date after entertaining arguments from all parties to the suit.
Oluokun’s counsel, Edoka Onyeke, held that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against his client.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) lawyer, Samuel Daaji, prayed the court to determine whether the evidence adduced by the prosecution sufficiently linked the defendant to the offences to warrant him to be called on to open his defence and make explanations.
This was after the prosecution called seven witnesses to testify.
The anti-graft agency had alleged that Oluokun and his oil firm, Peak Petroleum Industry Nigeria Limited, committed the fraud.
Both respondents were first arraigned on January 21, 2019, on a two-count charge.
The charge was later reviewed to five-count on July 30, 2021, upon additional facts that emerged from the investigation.
EFCC claimed that the defendant and his company, sometimes in 2014, approached the management of GOSL Nigeria Limited for a loan of $1 million and $666,666 to enable him to carry out operational activities in his firm’s oil field in Bayelsa State.
He was said to have assured the company, the complainant in the charge against him, that he would repay the money within 60 days.
Following the defendant’s failure to repay the loan as promised, he was alleged to have issued two post-dated Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited cheques dated June 26, 2014, for the sum of $1 million and $666,666.
The EFCC said that upon presentation of the cheques to the bank for withdrawal by the complainant on several occasions, they were returned due to insufficient funds.
Their offence, it added, “is contrary to and punishable under Section 1(1) (b) of the Dishonoured Cheques (Offences) Act, Cap D 11 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.”
Oluokun had pleaded not guilty to the charge and was admitted to bail on some terms and conditions.
THEGUARDIAN
