Absence of lead counsel to Grace Taiga, former Director of Legal at the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Ola Olanipekun, SAN, on Thursday, stalled the trial at a Federal High Court, Abuja.
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The matter, which was scheduled for trial commencement could not proceed as a lawyer working at Olanipekun’s firm told Justice Obiora Egwuatu, shortly after the case was called, that her boss was not in court.
She informed that the senior counsel was stuck at the Kano Airport with the case file.
She explained that Olanipekun left Lagos for a matter in Katsina State and left the state in the morning for Kano Airport with the hope of boarding a flight to Abuja since the matter was fixed for noon but discovered that his flight had been rescheduled.
The lawyer, who did not enter her appearance in court file, said the case file was not in her custody.
Counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abbah Mohammed, though told the court that the first prosecution witness (PW1) was in court, he confirmed that Olanipekun called him in the morning to inform him the challenge he was faced with.
Justice Egwuatu adjourned the matter until March 31 for trial to begin.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the EFCC had, on Jan. 17, re-arraigned Taiga on a seven-count charge bordering on money laundering offences.
The anti-graft agency’s lawyer said the fresh charge was reduced from the nine counts earlier preferred against her.
NAN also reports that the court had ordered Taiga to be remanded at Suleja Correctional Centre pending the perfection of her bail condition.
Egwuatu made the order following an oral application by the prosecution counsel who told the court that the defendant had failed to perfect her bail conditions.
However, NAN reliably gathered on Thursday that the former director had been released from the correctional centre after she was able to meet the bail terms.(NAN)
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