Alleged N29bn Fraud: Court Gives Ex-Gov Nyako, Son 24 Hours To Open Defence
Vice Admiral Muritala Nyako (rtd) and his son, Senator Abdulaziz Nyako, were given a 24-hour deadline by a Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday to enter their defense in the N29 billion fraud accusations brought against them by the Federal Government.
The court threatened to use legal measures to dismiss their lawsuit and award them a judgment against them.
On Monday, Justice Okon Abang issued the ultimatum in response to the former governor’s and his son’s repeated allegations that they were not yet ready to defend themselves against the criminal charges leveled against them.
The ex-governor and his son were supposed to start the process of proving their innocence at the reopening of the trial, but the former governor told Justice Abang that he wasn’t ready yet.
His son agreed with him and requested that the court grant them time to prepare for the defense.
Justice Abang, in a brief ruling on the motion for time, rejected the plea but postponed the trial to allow the defendants to get their affairs in order.
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Justice Abang referred to the Court of Appeal’s January 18 decision, which dismissed the two defendants’ no-case submission and ordered them to return to the High Court to begin their defense.
He claimed that granting their request would be tantamount to reconsidering the appellate court’s decision, which would result in a nullity.
The former governor and his son were invited after hours, but they maintained their position of not being prepared to defend themselves.
The judge then ordered them to either open their defense on January 25 or face being held responsible, adding that the court would close the case against them and enter judgment in favor of the Federal Government if they failed to do so.
In just one day, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) obtained nine judgments against the former governor, his son, Senator Abdulaziz Nyako, and seven of his business associates.
All nine verdicts were given by the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, in separate nine appeals brought by the nine defendants seeking to have the N29 billion money laundering accusations against them quashed.
Nyako, CA/A/CR/590/2021 (Zulfizil Abba), CA/A/CR/591/2021 (Crust Energy), CA/A/CR/595/2021 (Sebore Farms), CA/A/CR/596/2021 (Blue Opal Ltd), CA/A/CR/597/2021 (Abubakar Aliyu), CA/A/CR/594/2021 (Pagado Fortunes), CA/A/CR/593/2021 (Ab (by Tower Asset Mgt).
The appeals by Nyako and eight others were dismissed by a three-member panel of the court, chaired by Justice Peter Olabisi Ige, in nine separate judgements.
Nyako and the others had filed an appeal against Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in Abuja’s ruling on July 19, 2021, rejecting their no-case submissions.
Abdulaziz Nyako, Zulfizil Abba, Abubakar Aliyu, Sebore Farms and Extension Limited, Pagado Fortunes Limited, Blue Opal Limited, Tower Assets Management Limited, and Crust Energy Limited are among the others.
The Court of Appeal found, among other things, that Justice Abang was correct in dismissing Nyako and others’ no-case submissions.
The appellate court concluded that the prosecution, represented by Mr Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), had established a prima facie case against the nine appellants, necessitating their appearance in court.
It ordered them to return to the Federal High Court and enter their defense to the 37-count charge they are facing by answering questions posed in the Federal Government’s evidence.
