Justice Rilwan Aikawa sitting at the Federal High Court in Lagos has adjourned till Thursday, June 28, the trial of Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman, a former Minister of National Planning.
He is standing joint trial alongside a former governorship aspirant in Kwara State, Mr. Dele Belgore (SAN).
The EFCC is prosecuting Belgore and Sulaiman for allegedly receiving a sum of N450million from a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, in the build-up to the 2015 general elections.
The anti-graft agency claimed that they ought to have “reasonably known” that the N450million was part of proceeds of unlawful activities, adding that they handled the money without going through any financial institution, contrary to the provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act. But the defendants pleaded not guilty.
At the resumed hearing on Monday, Belgore urged the court to permit him to attend the graduation of his daughter in the United Kingdom.
In an application by his lawyer, Mr. Ebun Shofunde (SAN), Belgore urged the court to order the release of his passport to enable him to attend the graduation ceremony fixed for July 4, 2018.
His daughter, he said, will be graduating as a medical doctor from the University of London, UK.
He said he also wishes to use the opportunity to visit his doctor in the UK for a medical check-up in the last week of August “once the doctors resume from their annual vacation.”
The prosecuting counsel for the EFCC, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, opposed Belgore’s application for the release of his passport.
Oyedepo said that since Belgore had an earlier application urging the court to quash the charges against him because of an alleged irregularity, he had no right to seek favour from the court until his application is decided.
“Can a party challenging the validity of proceedings be asking for favour from the same court?” the prosecutor queried.