NAN-H-86
Adjournment
Jos, April 25, 2017 (NAN) The Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) has expressed worry over “many adjournments’’ in a case of N25 billion money laundry preferred against former Gombe State Governor, Alhaji Danjuma Goje.
Goje is standing trial with three others, on a five-count charge on financial dealings, including contracts on food supply to the Government House during his tenure and loan facilities taken from both Access and Union banks.
The case, presided-over by Justice Babatunde Quadri of the Federal High Court II in Jos, has been on for five years now.
When the case came up for hearing on Tuesday, the Defence Counsel, Chief Adeniyi Akintola, told the court that Goje had written to be excused at today’s proceedings and implored it to grant him a short adjournment to enable him to attend to a national assignment on the 2017 budget.
Goje, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation, had in a letter dated April 11, written to the court through one of his counsel, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), that he would be engaged this week.
The stated: “We humbly write to request for a short adjournment of the case to any other dates, two weeks or thereabout, after the said April 25/26.
“We deeply regret to inform you that the 1st defendant, who is the senate committee chairman on appropriation, will be on a critical national assignment for the week, commencing from April 24, in his official capacity as the chairman to fine-tune the nation’s budget.
“They (Committee members) are under intense pressure to complete work on the budget, and have, accordingly, earmarked and dedicated the week for the completion of the exercise.
“We hereby enclose a letter from the clerk to the National Assembly in confirmation thereto; in the circumstance, our client will be unable to attend trial on the earlier fixed dates.
“We therefore humbly apply for an adjournment of this case to any of the following dates, subject to the convenience of the Honourable court and of the learned prosecuting counsel, ’’ the letter read.
Attached to the letter is that of the Clerk of the National Assembly, Mr M. A. Sani-Omolori, which said “the essence of this letter is to crave your kind indulgence to adjourn the case for two weeks to enable the senator (Goje) to attend to this urgent national assignment’’.
But Mr Wahab Shittu, EFCC Counsel, expressed worry over what he described as many adjournments which he said, were slowing down the case.
“My Lord, I have a very strong observation on this letter seeking for adjournment with sincerity of purpose that is dangerous to the course of justice.
“Firstly, this is a criminal trial and a joint trial which can’t proceed without the presence of Goje, who is the first accused.
“Again, this case, in its nature, takes precedence over any national issue. Moreover, the country will not collapse if Goje is not there for the alleged assignment.
“I wish to state here that next time, we won’t be disposed to this kind of inconvenience as we have been constrained to concede to the application for adjournment and only this very one and not again in future,’’ Shittu said.
Ruling on the matter, Quadri granted the application and adjourned the case to June 20 and 21, for continuation of hearing.
The judge expressed the hope that there would not be any further hitch to the continuation of hearing of the case, when next it resumed in court.
“Since you have both met and agreed on 20 and 21 June, I hereby adjourn the case till June 20 and 21, for continuation of hearing.
“I hope before then, you people would have put all your records straight for us to continue from where we stopped, ’’ he declared. (NAN)
TYC/OIF/IA
Edited by Ifeyinwa Okonkwo/Idris Abdulrahman