Court fixes March 28 to begin trial of Tumsah brothers over alleged non-assets declaration
NAN-H-78
Assets
By Wandoo Sombo
Abuja, March 1, 2018 (NAN) The Federal High Court Abuja, has fixed March 28 to begin the trial of two public servants, Ibrahim and Tijani Tumsah for allegedly not declaring their assets.
Ibrahim and Tijani, both brothers who worked at the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, were arraigned on Feb. 8.
They were arraigned on a two-count charge by the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property.
The panel filed the charge on behalf of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami, (SAN).
The duo were arraigned for allegedly refusing and neglecting to declare their assets to the special panel.
They pleaded not guilty and were admitted to bail for N20 million and two sureties.
At the resumed hearing on Thursday, the prosecuting counsel, Mr Festus Keyamo, (SAN), prayed the court for an adjournment to enable parties to clear certain issues.
“My lord, there is a development in the matter that will not allow trial to commence today,” he said.
Keyamo said the prosecution was reaching out to the defendants to fill new assets declaration forms given to them by the panel, adding that there was a likelihood for out of court settlement or plea bargain.
Mr Onyechi Ikpeazu, (SAN), counsel to Ibrahim, raised no objection to the application for an adjournment.
He, however, expressed concerns over the issue of exploring a “plea bargain”, saying the defendants were not contemplating such.
Counsel to Tijani, Mr Kehinde Ogunwumiju, (SAN), also associated himself with the submissions of Ikpeazu.
The judge, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba, adjourned the matter until March 28, for commencement of trial.(NAN)
WS/IA