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Sola Ojo, Kaduna
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has fixed July 6, 7, 8 and 9 for the resumption of Eight Assembly Senator Shehu Sani’s $25,000 fraud allegation trial.
The activist turned politician is standing trial on a two-count criminal charge of name-dropping and obtaining the sum $25,000 from Executive Director of Kaduna-based ASD Motors, Alhaji Sani Dauda.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has accused Shehu Sani of attempting to use the said amount to bribe the acting Chairman of the Commission, Ibrahim Magu, to prevent Mr Dauda from EFCC’s investigation.
After the resumed trial on Monday, the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, said the defence counsel, AA Ibrahim, SAN, informed the court that the defendant was not in court because his neighbour just died of COVID-19, following which the Kaduna State Government placed a movement restriction in the area.
‘My Lord, the defendant is unavoidably absent in court today because one of his neighbours died of COVID-19, and the government of Kaduna State placed a restriction of movement in the area, hence making him absent.
‘In the circumstance, we are pleading with the court to give us a date,’ the defence counsel was quoted to have said.
But, the prosecuting counsel, Abba Mohammed, objected to the motion for adjournment, intimating the court that he had two witnesses in court and one of them came from the same Kaduna.
In his response, the trial Judge, Justice IE Ekwo, warned that he would revoke the bail granted Senator Shehu Sani if he fails to appear in court on the next adjourned date and thereafter, adjourned the trial to July, 6, 7, 8 and 9 for the continuation.
