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Tag: Court

  • Patience Jonathan’s $5.7m, N2.4b forfeiture case adjourned

    The Federal High Court in Lagos on Thursday ordered parties file affidavits on what transpired at the appellate courts in a forfeiture case initiated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against ex-First Lady Dame Patience Jonathan.

    Justice Mojisola Olatoregun, on April 26, 2017, ordered the temporary forfeiture of $5.7million and N2, 421,953,522.78 allegedly belonging to Mrs. Jonathan.

    She made the order based on an ex-parte application by EFCC.

    The N2.4billion was found in an Ecobank Nigeria Ltd account numbered 2022000760 in the name of La Wari Furniture and Baths Ltd, the commission said.

    Following the temporary forfeiture, Mrs. Jonathan, through her lawyer Chief Ifedayo Adedipe (SAN) and Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), appealed.

    The Court of Appeal, last January 12, upheld the temporary forfeiture.

    Dissatisfied, Mrs. Jonathan appealed to the Supreme Court.

    The Supreme Court, on March 15, affirmed the Court of Appeal judgment, directing the appellant to return to before Justice Olatoregun to show cause why the money should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.

    The Supreme Court also rejected her prayer to strike down the provisions of Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud Act, which EFCC relied on in filing the application.

    On Thursday, Adedipe informed Justice Olatoregun about developments at the Supreme Court.

    The judge then directed parties to file the affidavits.

    EFCC said it found the $5.7million in an account numbered 2110001712 with Skye Bank Plc in Mrs. Jonathan’s name.

    In an affidavit in support of the ex-parte originating summons, an EFCC operative, Musbahu Yahaha Abubakar, said Mrs. Jonathan opened the Skye Bank account on February 7, 2013.

    “Upon the opening of the account, several huge cash deposits in dollars were made to the account.

    “One Dudafa Waripamo Owei who was the Senior Special Assistant to the former President was one of the frequent depositors in the account.

    “Another frequent cash depositor of funds reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities into the account is one Festus Iyoha, a steward at the State House, Abuja,” the deponent said.

    The EFCC investigator said Iyoha also made deposits with fictitious names.

    Abubakar said between February 8, 2013 and January 30, 2015, the sum of $6,791,599.64 suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities was deposited into the account in cash.

    He said Mrs Jonathan had dissipated part of the funds, leaving a balance of $5,731,173.55.

    “If this fund is not forfeited in the interim, the operator of the account, Mrs. Dame Patience Jonathan, will fully dissipate it,” the investigator said.

    On the N2.4billion, the operative said the commission also traced the money to the Ecobank account following suspicions that it was proceeds of crime.

    He said the “purported” signatory to the account was one Ada Ifegbu, with a telephone number belonging to one Esther Oba.

    The EFCC operative said the N2.4billion “were substantially the naira equivalent of the United States Dollars given to one Chima Nwafor John of Ecobank Nigeria Ltd by one Esther Oba at the Aso Rock Villa.”

    He said it was John who contracted bureau de change operators to convert the money to naira and deposit it to La Wari Furniture and Baths Ltd’s account.

    Justice Olatoregun adjourned until May 8.

  • UPDATED: Adamawa supplementary gov election remains on hold, court rules

    The Adamawa State High Court, which last week granted an injunction against the supplementary governorship election in Adamawa State, has extended the order, effectively foreclosing the election initially scheduled for Saturday, March 23.

    The court, presided over by Justice Abdul-Aziz Waziri, adjourned the case to March 26 for ruling after taking arguments from the contending parties at the Thursday sitting.

    Justice Waziri said the earlier order restraining INEC from the conduct of the poll in the 44 polling units in the state is pending the determination of the suit.

    The suit in contention had been instituted by the governorship candidate of the Movement for the Restoration and Defence of Democracy (MRDD), Rev Eric Theman, who said he was deprived of his right to be voted for in the March 9 governorship election because INEC omitted the logo of his party from the ballot paper.

    Arguing the case for INEC at the Thursday court session, INEC’s counsel, Tanimu Inuwa (SAN) said the Movement for the Restoration and Defence of Democracy had not been duly nominated as the party governorship candidate in the state.

    He said INEC form CF002 does not contain the name of the MRDD candidate, for which reason the candidate was not validly nominated.

    He said that, in any case, Election Petition Tribunal would be the proper court to entertain the case, as election had commenced before the suit was brought to the court.

    “When election processes starts, even with casting of one vote, the matter arising from the election should be referred to Election Petition Tribunal,” he said.

    He added INEC is a federal agency and if the case were to go to court, it ought to have been filed at the federal high court.

    “We would abide by court order pending the determination of the suit,” he concluded.

    Arguing against the INEC’s counsel on jurisdiction, the counsel to the MRDD, Bar Yemi Pitan, said state and federal high courts have concurrent jurisdiction to entertain the case.

    He prayed the court to order INEC to conduct fresh polls as INEC has no power to disqualify Theman from the governorship elections.

    The court is expected to rule on the arguments at its adjourned sitting of Tuesday, March 26.

    Read Also: Adamawa supplementary gov poll remains suspended, says court

    Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has once again dismissed insinuation that it is sponsoring the MRDD candidate to get the court to annul the March 9 governorship election in the state.

    The Organising Secretary of the party, Ahmad Lawal, told newsmen after the Thursday court session the MRDD candidate is an independent individual seeking the fulfilment of his right and the APC had nothing to do with it.

    On his part, the state chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bar Tahir Shehu, who fielded questions from newsmen, said the party was patiently following the case because victory would still be for the PDP candidate in the March 9 election, Rt Hon Umaru Fintiri.

    “They are just delaying the inevitable. Victory will be ours,” the PDP chairman said.

    PDP’s Umaru Fintiri had polled 367,471 votes against the 334,995 votes by APC’s Mohammed Jibrilla Bindow when the election was declared inconclusive and supplementary election announced for 44 polling units.

  • Court grants leave to NASS, PASAN to settle dispute

    The National Industrial Court on Thursday granted leave to the National Assembly (NASS) and the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN), to explore the possibility of settling out of court.

    At the resumed hearing of pending applications, the claimant’s counsel, Mr Anthony Ameh and counsel to the fourth and fifth defendants, Mr Charles Yoila, counsel to the fourth and fifth defendant both said they had motions before the court.

    Ameh’s motion, seeking to amend his processes was granted by Justice Sanusi Kado.

    The judge equally granted Yoila’s application to enter memorandum of appearance when the other counsel did not object to the application.

    Ameh, the claimants counsel thereby informed the court that the parties were already exploring the possibility of settling the matter out of court.

    The counsel said that the Memorandum of Settlement was almost ready.

    He also asked for an adjournment to enable them fine tune the document and file it before the court.

    Adegoke Omoloja, counsel to the first, second and third defendants and Yoila confirmed that, that was their position also.

    Read Also: Court seals Access Bank, Diamond Bank merger

    Kado adjourned the matter until April 8, for adoption of terms of settlement.

    News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN) reports that the Senate President, Bukola Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, had dragged the union before the court seeking an order to restrain its members from closing down the National Assembly.

    The duo, in their suit via a motion ex-parte filed on Dec.18, 2018, also sought an order of the court, restraining PASAN from proceeding on strike, pending the determination of the motion on notice before the court.

    NAN recalls that the union had embarked on a warning strike and threatened to shut down the parliament to push for the payment of allowances allegedly owned its members.

    The authority of the assembly had approached the court seeking an order barring the union from taking such actions.

    Joined in the suit as co-defendants, are the Chairman and Secretary of PASAN, the Clerk and Deputy Clerk of National Assembly.

  • Court declines request to restrain INEC from announcing Rivers results

    A Federal High Court in Abuja declined on Wednesday, the request by the African Action Congress (AAC) for an order of interim injunction restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from among others, announcing winners of the last governorship and State Assembly elections in Rivers State.

    Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo ordered plaintiffs’ lawyer, Tawo Tawo (SAN) to put the defendants on notice, shortly after the lawyer spoke about the ex-parte motion filed by his client.

    The motion ex-parte was filed along with an originating summons marked: FHC/ ABJ/CS/303/2019, with AAC, Engr Biokpomabo Festus Awara and Pastor (Dr.) Ben-Gurion John Peter as plaintiffs.

    INEC and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) were listed as respondents in the motion which was filed on March 18 this year.

    At the mention of the case on Wednesday, Justice Ekwo drew the attention of plaintiffs’ lawyer to some media reports, to the effect that a Federal High Court in Abuja has restrained INEC in relation to the Rivers election.

    In response, Tawo denied knowledge of the publication, including a Justice Ewa mention in the reports. He urged the court to ignore it.

    Shortly after, Tawo informed the court about the pending ex-parte motion filed by has clients, which the judge declined.

    Justice Ekwo, after listening to the plaintiffs’ lawyer, declined to grant the prayers contained in the motion ex-parte.

    Instead, the judge ordered that the respondents be served with the motion and other process in the suit. He adjourned to March 25 for hearing.

    The plaintiffs had, in the motion ex-parte, prayed the court for “an order directing a departure from the Rules of this honourable court for the abridgment oi time for the respondents to enter appearance and file their defence within seven days from the date of service of the originating processes on them”.

    They and also prayed for “an order of interim injunction of this honourable court restraining the 1st respondent (INEC) from further action in any manner whatsoever including the counting/coalition of votes, declaration and return of any candidate in the gubernatorial and Houses of Assembly election of 9th March, 2019 in Rivers State pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

    The plaintiffs identified the grounds for their motion to include that “INEC had earlier admitted that the election in Rivers State was marred with substantial violence that compromised the credibility of the entire process thereby suspending the election.

    “Without calling for a fresh election, the 1st respondent has announced, via a press release, that it is now set to continue with the election from this Wednesday, 20th March 20 19.

    “Time is of the essence, therefore the need for abridgment of time within which the parties are to file their processes.”

    The plaintiffs are in the substantive suit, querying the propriety of INEC’s handling of the last governorship and State Assembly election in Rivers State, particularly as it relates to its announcement of the results.

  • Court dismisses suit challenging Makinde’s candidacy

    AN Oyo State High court sitting in Ibadan yesterday dismissed the suit filed by Senator Ayoade Adeseun and Sunday Adeyanju, challenging the legality of the primary elections that produced  Seyi Makinde (governor-elect)  as the governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party(PDP) in last election.

    Adeseun, who was Makinde’s opponent in the PDP primaries held in October 2018 at the Liberty Stadium, Ibadan, had  claimed that the list of delegates that participated in the election was  imported and doctored.

    The complainant  in the suit had prayed the court to declare the primary elections of the party as undemocratic, null and void.

    During the court proceeding, which started in January, the claimant’s counsel, Michael Lana, presented 14 witnesses. The defendant’s counsel presented eight witnesses.

    Justice Ganiyu Sunmonu ruled yesterday in favour of PDP and dismissed all claims of the claimants.

    Ganiyu said Adeseun’s counsel could not prove with substantial evidence that the delegates’ list for the primary was doctored.

    The judge said: “He who asserts must prove. The claimants must provide the names that were removed to prove that the list was doctored.”

    One of the leading lawyers of the first defendant, PDP, Lateef Adedigba, who spoke after the ruling, said  his client would be happy with the outcome of the judgment.

    Adedigba said: “The claimant filed a case as far back as October last year, challenging the primary election conducted in respect of all elective posts by the PDP.

    “By the virtue of the judgment read today, the judge disagreed with them and agreed with us that the primaries conducted were in order and they were in accordance with the constitution of the first respondent, that is the PDP, as well as the Constitution, the Electoral Act, as well as all the other relevant laws.”

    “That is what the judgment is all about. The primary was in order, perfect. They can go to the Court of Appeal.”

     

  • Court sentences two to death by hanging

    An Ado Ekiti High Court has sentenced two persons, Adedayo Oluwayemi, 27, and Daramola Seyi, 23, to death for robbing a night club in Ado-Ekiti.

    Justice John Adeyeye, who delivered the judgment, held that the duo were guilty of the two-count charge of armed robbery and conspiracy preferred against them.

    The judge found them guilty of violating Section 516 of the Criminal Code Cap C16 Laws of Ekiti State 2012 and Section 1(2) (b) of Robbery and Firearms (Special Provision) Act Laws of the Federation 2014.

    Justice Adeyeye, however, discharged and acquitted the third accused person, Ogunleye Ige, on the grounds that evidence before the court showed that there was no nexus between him and the incident.

    The court heard that the accused persons reportedly invaded Club 15 Dynamic Lounge, Irewumi, opposite Bawa Estate, Ado Ekiti on August 4, 2018 with guns and robbed victims of their belongings at gunpoint.

    Some of the stolen items include laptops, phones and cash.

    The accused were arrested at the point of selling the items, particularly the laptops and phones, as they could not provide the passwords.

    The accused persons were first arraigned on October 16, 2017 when the charges were read to them, to which they pleaded not guilty.

    Prosecution counsel Felix Awoniyi called six witnesses and tendered exhibits, including the two laptops.

    Defence counsel Toyin Oluwole did not call any witness.

     

  • Court restrains firm from trespassing on Ikoyi land

    The Court of Appeal in Lagos has held that a firm, Sunnyvale Nig. Ltd, is a trespasser on a land on Plot 19, Block 6, Ikoyi Foreshore, Lagos.

    The appellate court held that Sunnyvale and its agents “are not entitled to enter or cross the first appellant’s land”.

    The appeal was filed by County and City Bricks Development Company Ltd and Layi Ajayi Bembe.

    The Court of Appeal, in the lead judgment by Justice Ugochukwu Ogakwu, restrained the third respondent and its agents “from entering, crossing, continuing to enter or cross” the land belonging to County and City Bricks.

    The court held: “The Certificate of Occupancy (C-of-O) purportedly issued to the third respondent (Sunnyvale) by the Federal Government is hereby nullified.

    “N1 million is awarded in favour of the appellants as general damages for trespass against the third respondent.”

    Justice Ogakwu held that where another person has a better title to a land, the court will revoke the certificate of occupancy of the other not validly obtained.

    “The necessary implication of the setting aside of the third respondent’s certificate of occupancy is that it is a trespasser on the disputed land and it is not entitled to enter onto the said land.

    “The appellants having established their legal rights over the disputed land are entitled to have their interest protected by the grant of an injunction.

    “In a summation, from the totality of the forgoing, this appeal is immensely meritorious and it accordingly succeeds.

    “The judgment of the lower court is hereby set aside. Judgment is entered in favour of the appellants on their counterclaim,” Justice Ogakwu held.

    Justices Joseph Ikyegh and Justice Ebiowei Tobi concurred with the judgment.

    MKC Nigeria Ltd and Sterling Property Development Company Ltd are the other respondents.

    The Lagos State High Court had held that the land belonged to Sunnyvale Nigeria.

    But County and City Bricks appealed against the judgment and filed an application for stay of execution.

    While the litigation was ongoing, Sunnyvale continued building on the disputed land.

    Following the Court of Appeal judgment delivered on March 6, County & City Bricks petitioned the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in Lagos, over developments on the land.

    The Police chief, acting on the appellate court judgment, directed mobile policemen at the property at Sunnyvale’s instance to vacate the land.

    It was learnt that the AIG took legal advice from the zonal legal department which advised that Sunnyvale, having been declared trespasser and prohibited from entering and crossing the land, ought not to be on the land pending an order from the Supreme Court and ought not to be encouraged to disobey the order of the Court of Appeal.

     

  • Tribunal fixes judgment for Friday in Osun governorship dispute

    The Osun State Governorship Election Tribunal sitting in Apo, Abuja has scheduled Friday for judgment in the petition by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the September 2018 governorship election held in the state, Senator Ademola Adeleke.

    PDP and Adeleke are, by their petition, challenging the declaration of Adegboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    The date for the judgment was communicated to parties via hearing notices sent to them on Tuesday to that effect by the tribunal’s secretariat, a copy of which The Nation sighted in Abuja.

    Read Also: INEC ad hoc staff protest over unpaid allowances

    Tribunal Chairman, Justice Ibrahim Sirajo had, on March 7, after parties adopted their final written addresses, announced that judgment in the case would be reserved till a later date.

    Justice Sirajo said parties will be informed, at least, 48 hours before the date of delivery of the judgment.

    Wole Olanipekun (SAN) appeared for Oyetola; Akin Olujinmi (SAN) represented the APC while Lasco Pwahomdi appeared for INEC on March 7.

    The petitioners’ legal team was led by Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN).

    In adopting their separate final addresses, Olanipekun, Olujinmi and Pwahomdi urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition on the grounds that the petitioners have failed to prove their case.

    On his part, Ikpeazu urged the tribunal to uphold the petition and grant all the reliefs prayed by the petitioners.

    Olanipekun, while adopting his final address, noted that the petition was full of confusing claims and betrayed the petitioners’ lack of understanding of the nation’s election petition jurisprudence.

    In identifying what he described as the many contradictions in the petition, Olanipekun noted that “in pages 37, 38 and 39, the petitioners are presenting a different case entirely from their pleadings. The petition is a bedlam of confusion.”

    Olanipekun noted that the petitioners have admitted breaching the electoral law by seeking that some of their votes be quashed.

    He added: “They are also asking the tribunal to quash some of their votes. A self-confessed petitioner, who has in writing, admitted infringing the law, cannot be asking to be returned as a winner of the election.

    “In their relief seven, they want the court to nullify the certificate of return, but they failed to present the certificate before the tribunal. Where is that certificate? Can the tribunal nullify what is not before it?

    “They said the certificate of return is with us. If it is with us, should they not have given us a notice to produce it? They did not give us notice to produce,” Olanipekun said.

    He relied on a decision of the Court of Appeal given on Wednesday in the motion filed by the presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar and urged the tribunal to decline the petitioners’ prayer to void the guideline issued by INEC for the conduct of the election.

    In similar argument, Olujinmi faulted the evidence given by 63 polling agents called as witnesses by the petitioners.

    He noted that, though the petitioners called 80 witnesses in all, 63, who were polling unit agents gave common evidence by saying similar things and using almost exactly the same words.

    Olujinmi also argued the the evidence by the petitions’ 74th witness, who was the state polling agent, amounted to hearsay evidence because he admitted getting the information from the documents submitted to him.

    He urged the tribunal to ignore the various documents tendered by the petitioners, which he said they merely dumped on the tribunal without demonstrating their link to the case.

    Olujinmi also noted contradictions in the case of the petitioners and the evidence they led.

    He noted that while the petitioners want the tribunal to declare them winner of the first part of the election held on September 22, 2018 and void the supplementary election held on September 27, 2018, their 74th witness said they have no cause of action as it relates to the election of September 22, 2018.

    Ikpeazu, in his counter argument, urged the tribunal to disregard the issues raised by the respondents’ lawyers.

    He faulted the written addresses by the 2nd and 3rd respondents, which he argued, were not filed as required by law.

    Ikpeazu said there was no confusion as it relates to the case of the petitioners. He said the respondents’ claim of existence of confusion betrayed their misunderstanding of the case.

    Ikpeazu said the petitioners’ case was that, based of the result of the election of September 22, the 1st petitioner, having satisfied provision of Section 179(2) of the Constitution, ought to be declared as having won.

    He faulted the respondents’ argument that the petitioners dumped documents on the tribunal.

    Ikpeazu argued that the petitioners have effectively demonstrated all the documents tendered, including the certified true copies of the result sheets, which he said, were riddled with alterations.

    He queried the powers of INEC to alter election results and urged the tribunal to grant the petitioners’ prayers.

  • ‘How ex-UNILAG student raped undergraduate, stole her underwear’

    A prosecution witness, Insp Nkem Ejelonu, on Tuesday told the Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court in Ikeja how John Otema, a former student of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), allegedly raped a female undergraduate of the institution and stole her underwear.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ejelonu, the Investigating Police Officer (IPO) in the case, gave the testimony while giving evidence during the trial of Otema who is charged with three counts of rape and assault occasioning harm.

    Otema is accused of raping two students of the institution.

    Ejelonu, who is attached to the Adeniji Adele Police Station and has 20 years experience in the Nigerian Police Force, said that following the allegation of underwear theft by Student X (name withheld), she executed a search warrant to find the missing clothing.

    Led in evidence by the state prosecutor, Mrs Arinola Momoh-Ayokanbi, Ejelonu said: “Student X said the defendant left with her pant, bra and handkerchief after he raped her in his car.

    “I went to the Igbosere Magistrates’ Court to sign a search warrant on Feb. 6, 2018, we went to the defendant’s house at No. 6, Adeleye St., Bariga Lagos to execute the search warrant, the items were not found.

    “We found only kitchen knives and on Feb. 7, 2018, the case was charged to court.

    “I had earlier visited the scene of the incident which is the area of Distance Learning Institute (DLI) of UNILAG, to check if I could find the pant, bra and handkerchief but I could not find anything, hence the search of his house,” she said.

    Earlier in her evidence, Ejelonu narrated how the police was alerted about the rapes by UNILAG officials.

    “On Feb. 5, 2018, two officers from Alausa came to our office that they received a distress call from UNILAG that they needed our support.

    “The then Divisional Police Officer (DPO) Ayodele Onujose, detailed myself and Sgt. Osasua, we went to UNILAG and saw the school counsellor and we went to the security cell and we saw the two girls who were about 19-years-old,” she said.

    The IPO also told the court how the first complainant, Student X was allegedly raped by the defendant.

    “On Jan. 17, 2018, the defendant offered to give her a ride in his car on campus, he took her to DLI, had sexual intercourse with her and took away her pant, bra and handkerchief,” she said.

    Ejelonu also told the court how another complainant, Student Y (name withheld), was allegedly raped by Otema.

    She said: “Student Y said sometime in 2018 she saw the defendant on campus and they went to the canteen to buy food, the defendant went to the bank and gave her back N2, 000 for the meal.

    “Then both of them became friends, she told the defendant that she already had a boyfriend but he said that they should be friends with benefits.

    “Student Y said she demanded for a laptop and the defendant gave her N20,000 and promised that he would give her N30,000 later.

    “On Jan. 30, 2018, the defendant picked her up and took her to his house and wanted to sleep with her and she demanded for N100,000. The money was not given to her.

    “He had sex with her, during that period her boyfriend called her, the defendant dropped her off on campus at 11.30pm.”

    While being cross-examined by Mr Fred Onyeka, Otema’s defence counsel, the IPO revealed that the defendant’s car was still in police custody.

    “One of the complainants said he had sex with her in the vehicle, the vehicle is with the exhibit keeper at the Adeniji Police Station,” she said.

    NAN reports that during Ejelonu’s evidence-in-chief, the IPO’s report was rejected as an exhibit by the court based on Onyeka’s objection that the prosecution did not include it in their proof of evidence.

    Following the rejection of the report by the court, Momoh-Ayokanbi, the state prosecutor had asked the court to declare the police officer a hostile witness on the ground that she was in communication with the defence.

  • Ricky Tarfa’s ill health stalls trial

    The trial of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Rickey Tarfa, for alleged perversion of the course of justice before an Igbosere High Court was on Tuesday stalled due to his ill health.

    Tarfa is standing trial on a 26-count charge bordering on offering monetary gratification to two judges of the Federal High Court, Justices Hyeladzira Nganjiwa and Mohammed Yunusa before Justify Adedayo Akintoye.

    During resumed proceeding on Tuesday, Tarfa’s counsel, Mr Jelili Owonikoko (SAN), told the court that the defendant was in the court’s premises but could not enter the courtroom due to the severity of his illness.

    Owonikoko told the court that they had filed a medical recommendation notifying the court for medical leave to be given to the defendant for a period of three months to enable him recuperate.

    He said that the defendant was in a vehicle inside the court premises.

    At this stage, the prosecuting counsel of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Usman Buhari and the court’s registrar all went out to the vehicle to see the defendant.

    When they came back, the EFCC prosecutor, Buhari who stood in for Mr Rotimi Oyedepo, told the court that they saw the defendant in the vehicle.

    Read Also: Alleged bribery: Court approves Rickey Tarfa’s medical trip

    He also said that the medical report was served on them.

    Buhari said he had no objection for the request of the defendant for time to recuperate.

    The trial judge, Justice Akintoye, advised that the defendant must not travel outside the country without court’s knowledge.

    She adjourned the case until May 8 and 9 for continuation of trial.

    It would be recalled that on the last adjourned date, March 11, the case did not go on because the judge went for official duty.

    Tarfa’s trial was also stalled on January 21due to his absence in court.

    Tarfa’s counsel, Owonikoko (SAN), had told the court that his client traveled outside the country for medical treatment.

    He said the condition of his client was so bad that he had made to travel for surgical operations.

    The EFCC counsel confirmed to the court that he received the medical report and a letter from the defendant requesting for vacation of trial date to further date.

    He, however, said that the defendant should have come to court to apply for leave to travel before embarking on such a trip.

    EFCC had in the charge claimed that between June 27, 2012 and January 8, 2016, Tarfa paid a total of N5.3 million in several tranches into Justice Nganjiwa’s account.

    He was also accused of paying into Justice Yunusa’s account, a total of N800,000 in three tranches between Feb. 9 and November 30, 2015.

    The SAN was equally accused of age falsification.

    Upon his arraignment on March 9, 2016 and subsequent re-arraignment on November 16, 2016, Tarfa pleaded not guilty to the charge and was granted bail on self-recognizance.

    The EFCC had since closed its case.

    Tarfa, also opened his defence after the court dismissed the no-case submission he filed.

    Tarfa’s first witness, Deputy Chief Registrar (DCR)of the Federal High Court in Lagos, Mr Bello Okandeji, was yet to finish his cross-examination.