The Federal Government (FG) has appealled the judgment of Justice Mohammed Idris of a Federal High Court, Lagos discharging and acquitting Emirates Airlines and 10 others of complicity in an alleged missing of four bags containing $1, 630, 000 belonging to a businessman, Prince Chu Ikem Orji.
The FG is asking the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal to set aside the acquittal of Emirates Airlines and 10 others and convict them for the missing $1, 630, 000 as charged.
The FG in a notice of appeal dated May 16 asked the appellate court to allow and invalidate the discharge and acquittal order granted by Justice Idris in favour of Emirates Airlines and 10 others.
The FG had preferred a criminal charge against the Airlines before the Federal High Court following an alleged theft of four bags containing the $1.630 million.
Also charged before the court were Pathfinder International Limited, Nigeria Aviation Handling Co. Plc., Abayomi Adekanbi Abiola, Isiaka Adegoke Adedeji, Awonubi Abayomi and George Ikpekhia.
Their offence was “that you, Emirates Airlines, Pathfinders International Limited, Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc., Abayomi Adekanbi Abiola, Isiaka Adegoke Adedeji, Awonubi Abayomi, George Ipekhia and others now at large on or about the 19th day of December, 2007 at Murtala Mohammed Airport, Ikeja within the jurisdiction of this honourable court conspired among yourselves to commit a felony to wit: stealing four bags with tag number EK 428682, EK 428583, EK 650162, EK 650161, tagged and collected by you from Prince Chu Ikem Orji, one of which contained the sum of $1,630,000 on the promise of keeping them intact for onward delivery to him at Guangzhou China and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 516 of the criminal Code Act, Cap C38, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.”
However, all the defendants were, discharged and acquitted on April 10 this year by Justice Idris, who described the conspiracy offence slammed on the defendants as a fairy tale, insisting that there was no evidence suggesting such collusion.
According to the judge, the totality of the evidence of the prosecution did not support the offence of conspiracy, saying that the prosecution had failed to prove its case against the defendants beyond reasonable doubt.
Dissatisfied, the FG which prosecuted the accused persons before the lower court, last week headed for the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division.
In a notice of appeal, dated May 16, the FG formulated 14 grounds of appeal on why the appellate court must invalidate the discharge and acquittal verdict granted in favour of Emirates Airlines.
The FG said that Justice Mohammed Idris erred in law by not attaching any evidential value to exhibit A2 “by holding thus: I find that exhibits A1 and A2 are unsigned.”