Justice Abubakar Umar of the FCT High Court has fixed Oct. 16 to deliver judgment in a suit filed by the EFCC against, one Adeolu Olugbenga, who is accused of forgery and fraud.
The EFCC arraigned Olugbenga in 2004 for allegedly conspiring and obtaining the sum of N3 million from the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Gambari, through his personal assistant, Yusuf Gambari.
The anti-graft agency said the accused forged a letter on the official letter-head of the office of the then National Security Adviser, retired Lt.-Gen. Aliyu Gusau.
The accused was said to have told the emir that some containers at the Tin-can Island Port in Lagos had been allocated to him by the Federal Government.
He was also accused of forging a revenue collector's receipt No. Z001648330, dated April 22, 2004, for N1.5 million in favour of the Emir “with intent to cause him to part with the money’’.
At the resumed hearing of the case, EFCC counsel Ofem Uket, while adopting his final written address, prayed the court to find the accused guilty of the offence.
He also urged the court to hold that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, which is the highest standard of proof that must be met in any criminal trial.
Uket, therefore, urged the court to convict and sentence Adeolu.
Also adopting his final written address, counsel to the accused, Mr Ade Ofeoshe, urged the court to discharge and acquit Olugbenga of the charges.
Ofeoshe urged the court to hold that the EFCC had failed to prove its case.
He urged the court to hold that the prosecution failed to prove all the essential ingredients in establishing that a criminal act had been committed by the accused.
Ofeoshe said that the EFCC failed to bring a hand writing expert to confirm that the accused forged and signed the alleged letter.
“I pray My Lord holds that the EFCC's case is hopelessly hopeless and acquit the accused of all charges,'' he said.
The judge adjourned the case to Oct. 16 for judgment.
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