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N6.8m : “Amobi Nzelu Must Face Trial”, EFCC Insists
Newsdiaryonline Tue Nov 29,2011
Lamorde:EFCC boss
The Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday, November
29 ,
2011, told a Federal High Court presided over by Justice
Gabriel Kolawole that
there was enough
material to bring to trial,
an Abuja- based
lawyer, Barrister Amobi Nzelu.
Nzelu is being prosecuted by the
EFCC over a three
count-charge bordering on impersonation and criminal
misappropriation of the
sum of N6. 8million.
His ordeal followed a
two- page petition, dated June 14, 2010 and
addressed to the
Chairman of the Commission. It is entitled: Petition
against Barrister Amobi
Nzelu for impersonation and fraudulently obtaining
the sum of N6.850m by
false pretences in the name of the Nigerian Customs
Service. He was docked
on Monday, January 17 , 2011.
Nzelu had filed a motion urging the court to quash the charges
against him on the
ground that the charges were civil and not criminal.
At the resumed hearing of the case, the prosecution counsel,
Wahab Shittu, argued
that the money obtained by the accused person was obtained under
false pretences as he
claimed that he was an agent of Customs. Shittu also
argued that it was only
after Nzelu was arrested by EFCC that the wife
refunded the money which
is now exhibit before the court.
The Judge, after
listening to arguments and submission from both the
defense and prosecution
counsel on the application to quash the charges,
adjourned proceeding to
February 3, 2012 for ruling. Justice
Kolawole had on November 15, 2011 ruled against another
application Nzelu filed
asking for his traveling documents to be returned
to him to enable him
seek medical
treatment abroad. In his ruling, the
judge had said “I will
nevertheless be unable to grant the application
because, material
information which I require to be able to make up my
mind and to judiciously
exercise my discretion are lacking”.
“The other constraint I have, beside the fact that the applicant
has not produced any
letter of appointment by which the nature, duration, location
and names of his
doctors/consultants would have been disclosed, is the
fact that I have my
doubt since I have no information as to the duration
and schedule of the
"routine medical checkup" to be able to come to a
decision that the
Accused/Applicant will be able to return soon to the
country and appear in
Court on November 29, 2011 being a date to which his
trial has been
scheduled for”.
Th
This is the document referred to in the Witness
Statement on Oath of Clifford O. Kokogho as
“Exhibit
COK.2”
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