Guardian

THE absence of the defence counsel, Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) and Adebayo Adenipekun (SAN),  on Monday meant that proceedings at the on-going trial of two oil marketers implicated in subsidy scam, Oluwaseun Ogunbambo and Habila Theck, at the Lagos High Court, Ikeja, could not continue.

The oil marketers and their company, Fargo Energy Limited, are being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over an allegation of N979.6 million fuel subsidy fraud.

The defendants were arraigned before Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo on a six-count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining money by false pretence, forgery and the use of forged documents.

At the resumption of their trial, however, EFCC counsel, Mr. Francis Usani, informed the court that the date was fixed for hearing of two applications filed by Ogunbambo but that the defence counsel, Agbakoba and Adenipekun, were not in court for the proceedings.

Usani added that no explanation was given for their absence, stressing that he would have used that as a ground to ask the court to strike out the applications.

He further told the court that the EFCC had filed counter-affidavits to the applications seeking to quash the charge against the defendants and the other asking for a vacation of the forfeiture order placed on Ogunbambo’s assets. Further hearing on the applications has been fixed for June 25.

Agbakoba had, in an application seeking to quash the charges against the defendants, raised three major constitutional and jurisdictional issues against the EFCC. The first touched on Miranda Rights, which are secured rights of persons arrested or detained to have legal representation immediately on arrest and before making any statement.

It is believed that the application might be the first time a court in Nigeria is called upon to determine the issue of non-administration of Miranda Rights by law enforcement agents.