The Federal High Court in Abuja has rejected a request by former chairman of the defunct Pension Reformed Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, for an adjournment to prepare his defence.
Justice Okon Abang ruled that the request was a ploy to waste the judicial time of the court.
The judge had on December 4, 2020, adjourned the case involving N2 billion money laundering to Tuesday based on a request by Maina’s new lawyer, Adaji Abel.
Adeji pleaded that he needed more time to study the case.
The prosecution counsel of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Farouk Abdullah, was about to invite the ninth prosecuting counsel, Rouquaya Ibrahim, to continue her testimony when the defence lawyer raised an objection.
He said, in the previous proceeding, he applied for the court’s record needed by the defence to continue with the case, via a letter sent to the registry but he was yet to get the record from the registry.
Opposing the adjournment application, the EFCC prosecuting counsel, Abdullah said Maina had been given the opportunity to defend himself but he refused to utilise it.
In his ruling, Justice Abang dismissed the application noting that, Maina had been refused to appear in previous, and the last one he attended was September 29.
He said Maina has not been appearing until when the court issued warrant of his arrest and was produced in court on December 4.
Abang said that defendant had on his own jumped bail, so his right to fear hearing was not breached, and his trial had continue in absentia before he was eventually arrested and brought back to court.
Justice Abang also said it was the former counsel to Maina who was expected to hand over the records at his disposal to the new counsel who took over his case.
The Judge dismissed the counsel’s application for re-adjournment and ordered that the trial continues.
After the the witness, Ruqqayah Ibrahim, presented what the investigation revealed, the Judge adjourned the matter till 9th December 2020.
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