An Abuja High Court will on Wednesday (today) deliver ruling on whether to revoke the bail it granted former Aviation Minister, Dr. Babalola Borisade.
Justice Abubakar Umar fixed the date after Borisade; his aide, Tunde Dairo; and Rowland Iyayi, a former Managing Director of the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency, failed to attend their trial for the second time.
On Monday, Umar gave an order for Borishade, Dairo and Iyayi to appear before the court unfailingly.
When the matter was called, the counsel of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Daniel Penda, told the court that the counsel to the accused persons, Kehinde Ogunwumiju, had served him with a letter, seeking for an adjournment.
But at the resumed sitting of the court on Tuesday, the trio were not in court as ordered.
The counsel to Borisade, Bridget Omo-learhia, apologised to the court over the inability of her client to attend his trial on July 8.
Omo-learhia said that the absence of the first accused was as a result of misinformation.
She said: “My lord, the first accused was not in court yesterday and today because his senior counsel informed him that the matter will not go on.
“Because the accused’s counsel, Mr. Kehinde Ogunwumiju, sent a letter of apology, seeking for an adjournment.”
She submitted that the move was to enable Borisade and his counsel to attend the 50th anniversary of Chief Afe Babalola’s legal practice.
“My lord, we are sorry because we misinformed the first accused,” she said.
In his submission, counsel to Dairo, Ebuka Nwanze, also apologised for failure to guide his client on the right date for trial.
Nwanze said: “We apologise and urge the court to forgive us.
“This will not repeat itself again.”
Penda, however, opposed the submission of both counsel, saying that the reasons given for the absence of the accused persons were not satisfactory.
Penda argued that the two counsel had no right to give permission to an accused to stay away from trial.
“My lord, the reasons being advanced by the accused counsel are rather cosmetics and not satisfactory,” he said.
Borisade is standing trial alongside Iyayi, Dairo and Eider, an Australian, over the alleged mismanagement of the N5.2 billion Aviation Safe Tower contract.
They were arraigned by the EFCC on a 15-count charge of bribe-taking and forging aviation contract documents on November 19, 2009.
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