Court Grants Dakingari More Time To Recuperate

A Federal High Court sitting in Birnin-Kebbi, Kebbi State, has granted immediate past Governor Usman Dakingeri more time to attend to his ill-health in the United Kingdom (UK). Eyitayo Fatogun, counsel to the former governor, had, on Monday, filed an affidavit with medical documents before the court that his client, who was currently receiving medical treatment in UK for diabetes, could not appear in court. He said Dakingari’s swollen legs had worsened his health condition. Johnson Ojogbena, lead prosecutor of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), who had earlier urged the court to invoke Section 394 of Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) based on the last ruling of the court on the matter, described the medical documents tendered before the court as “mere facts” prepared by a pharmacist not medical doctor. He argued that the 4th defendant was trying to disobey the court by not appearing and asked the court to invoke Section 934 as promised by the court in the last sitting that, “if the 4th defendant failed to appear in court today, the court will not wait for the prosecutor before it invoke the Section 934.” The EFCC prosecutor told the court that the 2nd and 3rd defendants were being subjected to stress because of attitude of the 4th defendant, stressing that issuing warrant of arrest would amount to fairness to other defendants who had been coming to the court. But Fatogun asked the court to discontinue, arguing that a medical doctor duly presented the medical document. In his ruling, Justice Simeon Amobeda, the presiding judge, ruled that based on fresh facts before the court, it could not invoke Section 394 of ACJA, which mandated the court to issue the warrant of arrest if a defendant failed to appear before the court despite been served. He further said: “It is only the living that could stand for trial and based on Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Section 36, the defendant should be allowed to take care of his health properly and face his trial.” The judge, who also ordered the other defendants to deposit their international passports to the registrar, said they must all be brought to the court on the next adjourned date. He, however, adjourned the case till September 24, 2018, for all the defendants to take their pleas.]]>