Ill health again stalls arraignment of former FCT minister

Formal arraignment of former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Lieutenant General Jeremiah Useni, before the Code of Conduct Tribunal failed again on Wednesday following a report that he was ill.
The Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation filed a suit on May 10, 2000 against Useni bordering on abuse of office and non-declaration of assets.
Useni is alleged to have used his office as minister of the FCT to acquire landed properties in choice locations in Abuja metropolis.
At the sitting of the tribunal on Wednesday, Useni’s counsel, Victor Odjemu, said his client was unable to present himself for arraignment due to ill health.
“My lord, due to certain developments, we will be asking the tribunal to give the accused another adjournment because he is seriously ill and needs some time to recuperate before he can appear in court,” the lawyer said.
Odjemu applied for a short adjournment and promised to ensure that the accused appears in court to take his plea.
The prosecutor, Abas Ibrahim, holding brief for Simon Egede, the Director of Public Prosecution in the Ministry of Justice, raised no objection to the prayer for adjournment.
In a ruling, the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Danladi Umar, who led two other members of the panel, could not hide his shock over the discovery that Useni was not in court.
Umar said: “The accused person has never appeared in person in this matter as required by law.
“It has been a tale of one excuse or the other from the accused person.”
Umar advised Useni’s counsel to ensure his presence in court on the next adjourned date to take his plea.
He said: “If the accused is able to go for treatment at the National Hospital for routine medical check-up, nothing stops him from coming here for some minutes to take his plea.
“If you observe the trial of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, you will observe that he was transported to court in an ambulance, emphasising the importance of the trial.
“It is difficult to rationalise the accused’s inability to take his plea in the past 13 years.”
Umar adjourned the case to November 27.