Africa
THE Federal High Court, Abuja, will on Dec. 1, rule on whether to remand Col. Nicholas Ashinze, a former aide of ex-National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, in prison for the remainder of his trial or not.
The trial judge, Justice Okon Abang fixed the date on Wednesday after taking oral arguments from counsel.
All the defence counsel prayed the court to consider the explanation Ashinze gave on Monday, showing cause why he should not be remanded.
Justice Abang, however, said that he could not hear the matter because he had to travel back to his division in Warri to attend to urgent pre-election matters which were time bound.
“As regards ruling on the defendant’s committal proceedings, I will consider the facts and the law and decide whether the subsisting bench warrant is set aside or vacated,” the judge said.
Mr Ernest Nwoye, counsel to Ashinze had prayed the court to rely on all the facts supplied by his client to consider the prayer not to remand his client for the remainder of his trial.
“My lord, I lean on those facts as supplied by my client in praying and pleading with my lord as a minister in this temple of justice and equity to countenance those reasons given and consider his prayer.
“Going forward, he will never be absent from court again,” Nwoye said.
Another defence counsel, Mr Afam Osigwe, SAN, also urged the court to accept the reasons given by Ashinze as providing a justifiable reason as to why he should continue to enjoy the bail granted him by the court.
For his part, the prosecuting counsel, Mr Offem Uket, told the court that having perceived the solemn and subdued currently pervading the court, he would leave the issue to the discretion of the court.
The News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN), reports that Ashinze, had falled to attend court for one day and the court issued a bench warrant for his arrest.
The court asked the defendant to show cause why he should not be remanded in the correctional center for violating one of his bail conditions by not attending court.
In his response, Ashinze told the court that he was absent in court because he had an accident while returning to Kaduna on one of the days after attending court.
“My Lord, I was serving at Jaji in Kaduna and on my way back to Kaduna after one of the court sittings, I had an accident on the Abuja- Kaduna expressway.
“A major surgery was conducted on me at the Garki General Hospital.”
He also told the court that the day in question, the sitting coincided with the day I had therapy which is a follow up to the surgery I had.
The defendant pleaded with the court to understand his plight saying he didn’t deliberately miss court.
NAN also reports that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) is prosecuting Ashinze alongside three others and five companies for alleged criminal diversion of N5.6 billion from the office of the former NSA.(NAN)
A.I
Tags: Col. Nicholas Ashinze EFCC Justice Okon Abang Mr Afam Osigwe Mr Ernest Nwoye Mr Offem Uket Sambo Dasuki
