The case involving a former
governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva, who is being prosecuted by the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a fresh 50 count charge
bordering on stealing and money laundering, came up for mention Thursday, June
25, 2015 before Justice A. F. Adeniyi of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
Sylva is charged alongside
Francis Okokuro, Gbenga Balogun, and Samuel Ogbuku. They allegedly used three
companies – Marlin Maritime Limited, Eat Catering Services Limited, and
Haloween-Blue Construction and Logistics Limited to move over N19.2 billion
from Bayelsa State coffers between 2009 and 2012.
Justice A. R. Mohammed of
the Federal High Court had on June 10, 2015 dismissed the 42- count charge of
stealing earlier brought against Sylva and his co-accused by the EFCC, with the
excuse that the prosecution’s application to consolidate the charges before
him, against the defendants, amounted to an abuse of court process.
The Commission however,
faulted the ruling on the grounds that it was premature as the accused persons
had not even taken any plea before the court, and subsequently filed the fresh
50 count charge at the Federal High Court.
At the resumed hearing
before Justice Adeniyi, Sylva, Okokuro and Ogbuku were present in court. The
accused persons were to take their pleas, but this could not happen, as there
was a pending application before the court. Ajayi Olowo, counsel to Balogun had
filed a preliminary objection, challenging the jurisdiction of the court, to
hear the case.
Counsel to the EFCC, Rotimi
Jacobs, SAN, also told the court that investigators who visited Port Harcourt,
Rivers State, discovered that the addresses of Eat Catering Services Limited,
and Haloween-Blue Construction and Logistics Limited were non-existent.
Justice Adeniyi thereafter,
adjourned till July 9, 2015 for continuation of hearing and ruling on the
application brought before it.
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