Innocent Chukwuma, the Chairman
of Innoson Motors Ltd, on Wednesday in Lagos failed to appear for his scheduled
arraignment for the sixth time over alleged fraud.
Chukwuma was scheduled to appear
before a new judge, Justice Olusola Williams, at an Ikeja Special Offences
Court.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
reports that Justice Mojisola Dada, the judge initially assigned to hear the
case, had withdrawn following Innoson’s February 12 petition to the National
Judicial Council (NJC).
Following the absence of the
automobile CEO in court on Wednesday, Williams asked the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC) to produce him for arraignment on the new date of
sitting.
The judge said: “I believe it is
the job of the prosecution to bring the defendant to court.
“The judge is just to make an
order that he should appear in court but we cannot enforce the order. The
responsibility still lies on the EFCC to make sure he is in court,”
Mr Chukwuma had previously failed
to appear before Mr Dada five times and had been declared wanted by the judge
following a request by the EFCC.
Earlier during proceedings,
Anselem Ozioko, the lead EFCC counsel informed the court that the Innoson CEO
and his legal representatives were absent in court.
“My Lord, it appears that the
second defendant and my learned colleagues from the other side are not in
court.He has refused to come for his arraignment for the sixth time even when
the matter was before your learned brother, Justice Dada, despite all efforts
to bring him here.
“He has also filed seven
different applications in between the period he was supposed to be
arraigned,the applications filed by Chukwuma to allegedly stall his arraignment
are an application challenging the jurisdiction of the court, an application to
disqualify himself from the charge before the court.
“Others are an order of stay of
execution on bench warrant issued by the court and a stay of execution of
warrant of arrest.
“He has refused to honour the
court’s order by his continuous absence in court after he was granted an
administrative bail by the EFCC.
“My Lord, in view of the absence
of the defendant, we shall be asking for an adjournment date.”
The Presiding Judge, however,
adjourned the case until October 10 for arraignment.
Chukwuma and his company, Innoson
Motors Nigeria Ltd., were to be arraigned on a four-count charge of conspiracy
to obtain property by false pretences, stealing and forgery in a transaction
with Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB).
According to the charge, the
defendants committed the offences between 2009 and July 2011 in Lagos.
The EFCC alleged that the
defendants with intent to defraud, conspired to obtain by false pretences
containers of motorcycle, spare parts and raw materials, property of GTB from
Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd, Apapa, Lagos.
The offences contravened Sections
1(1)(b), 1(3), and 8(a) of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences
Act 2016 and Sections 309(9), 388, 465 and 467(1)(j) of the Criminal Code, Laws
of Lagos State 2003.
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