Court further adjourns trial of ex-Service Chiefs

A Federal High Court in Lagos on Monday further adjourned till November 23 and 24 the ongoing trial of former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu, and 10 others.
Amosun is charged alongside two other officers of the Air Force – Air Vice Marshal Jacob Adigun and Air Commodore Gbadebo Olugbenga.
Also charged are some companies, namely: Delfina Oil and Gas Ltd, Mcallan Oil and Gas Ltd, Hebron Housing and Properties Company Ltd, Trapezites BDC, and Fonds and Pricey Ltd.
At the resumed hearing of the matter on Monday, defence counsel, Norrison Quakers, had asked a prosecution witness, one Mojeed Olatunji, a compliance officer with Skye Bank, to exhibit his international passport before the court.
After the witness had tendered same, the defence counsel had argued that there were disparities in the identity of witness and the documents earlier tendered in court.
Quakers urged the court to discountenance the statement of the witness and adjourn to a further date to enable him cross examine the witness on another document earlier tendered in court.
In response, the prosecutor, Rotimi Oyedepo, urged the court to overlook the argument of defence counsel as a ploy to delay trial.
Oyedepo added that the submissions were immaterial as the witness was not named as an accused in the charge.
However, the trial judge, Justice Mohammed Idris, ruled otherwise and granted an adjournment.
Idris fixed November 23 and 24 for continuation.
The accused are being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
They were arraigned on June 26 and had pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The judge had then granted them bail in the sum of N500 million each with two sureties each in like sum.
The charges against the accused, border on conspiracy, stealing and money laundering.
In one of the counts, the accused were said to have indirectly converted the sum of N3.6 billion belonging to the Nigerian Air Force, to their own use.
In another instance, the EFCC alleged that Amosun and the others stole over N323 million from the accounts of the Nigerian Air Force between March 21, 2014 and March 12, 2015.
The alleged theft was said to be for the purpose of purchasing for themselves a property situated at No.1, River Street, Wuse II Abuja.
The alleged offences were said to have contravened the provisions of Sections 18(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) (Amendment) Act, 2012