The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday accused former Gombe State governor, Danjuma Goje and four others standing trial on an 18-count charge of alleged conspiracy and N25bn money laundering of deliberately stalling their trial at the Federal High Court sitting in Gombe, Gombe State.
The other four accused persons are: Aliyu El- Nafaty, Sambo Tumu, S.M. Dakoro and S.M. Dakoro Gombe (a company). They were first arraigned on Monday, October? 17, 2011.
When the matter came up before Hon. Justice Babatunde Quadri, yesterday, lawyer to Goje, Chief Adeniyi Akintola, (SAN), opposed an attempt by the lawyer to the EFCC, Mr. Wahab Shittu, to proceed on trial by calling his witnesses for cross-examination.
But Akintola had urged the court to request Wahab Shittu to show to his clients and the court, an evidence of prosecutorial authority from the attorney general of the federation (AGF) and minister of justice before the commencement of trial.
Akintola urged the court in the present circumstance to dismiss the charge against the accused persons.
But in his response, Shittu urged the court to take judicial notice that the prosecution was set to proceed with the trial by calling witnesses already in court. He contended that the objection was only raised in the court orally, without a pre-judicial notice. He accused the defence of ploy to deliberately delay proceedings.? Shittu also wondered why the defence did not query his authority in earlier appearances; as according to him, “I see this as an attempt to stall the case, even for the third time.”
The case has been adjourned till July 3.
He told the court that he could not have proceeded with the brief in the first instance, if he did not have such authority. But in order not to waste the time of the court on ruling on arguments and proof of evidence, he prayed the court for an adjournment to produce the authority.
Honourable Justice Quadri obliged him and adjourned to July 3, 4, 5, and 6, 2012, for definite hearing of prosecution witnesses and accelerated trial.
While the drama lasted in the courtroom, some students of Gombe State Students Association, drawn from some tertiary institutions in the state, thronged the Federal High Court in Gombe to protest against any delay or subversion of justice as it happened in the case of erstwhile governor of Delta State, James Onanefe Ibori.?
The students, who were prevented from gaining entrance into the court premises by security men, demanded for progress in the prosecution of Goje, stressing that there were usually unnecessary delays in when it comes to hearing the case.
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