Justice Mojisola Dada of the Spe cial Offences
Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, on Monday, December 3, 2018, turned down an
application by John Abebe, for the release of his international passports. Abebe
is being prosecuted for an alleged $4m fraud.
Abebe is facing trial over a four-count charge of
forgery, fabricating evidence, using fabricated evidence and attempt to pervert
the course of justice preferred against him by the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission, EFCC.
In the application made orally, Abebe, through
his counsel, E.D. Onyeke, sought the release of the passport to enable him
travel to the United Kingdom, U.K.
Abebe’s lawyer told the court that his client
lost his mother last night in the UK; hence, the request for the release of the
passport.
However, in her response, Justice Dada ordered
the defendant to file a formal application to the court. “Your oral
application is not welcome,” the Judge held.
Also, at today’s proceedings, a prosecution
witness, Prof. Fidelis Odita, SAN, admitted that he did not confront the
defendant with the original document of the Net Profit Interest Agreement
(NPIA) in the suit filed at the Federal High court against the defendant.
Under cross-examination by the defence counsel,
Onyeke, the witness told the court that there was no reason to enter into another
agreement with Abebe and his company, Inducon by BP Exploration, after
both parties had signed the termination agreement.
He said BP Exploration gave “a generous agency
agreement to Inducon before the termination agreement was signed, while BP
Exploration and Statoil were alliance partners.”
The witness further admitted to the court that
the Net Profit Interest Agreement, NPIA, was an agreement to pay the defendant
money.
He also admitted that the NPIA had been entered
into by BP and Inducon before oil production activities started.
The case was adjourned to January 25, 2019 for
continuation of trial.
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