Justice R.I.B. Adebiyi of the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja, Lagos, has adjourned the alleged N754.8 million fraud case against former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Patrick Akpobolokemi, and former Executive Director, Ezekiel Bala Agaba, until February 27 and 28, 2024.

Initially, Akpobolokemi and Agaba were charged alongside Governor Juan, Vincent Udoye, Ekene Nwakuche, Adegboyega Olopoenia, and Gama Marine Nigeria Ltd by the EFCC. However, the charges were later amended to involve only Akpobolokemi and Agaba.

After the prosecution closed its case, the defendants’ lawyers filed no-case submissions. On May 8, 2023, Justice Adebiyi ruled that the prosecution had made a prima facie case against both defendants on several counts of stealing. The second defendant was also found to have a prima facie case on counts of forgery. While the defendants were discharged and acquitted on some counts, they were ordered to open their defense on the remaining counts.

During the recent proceedings, the defense counsel informed the court that they were unable to open their defense due to the unavailability of their intended witnesses. One witness had lost his mother and traveled for the funeral, while the other witness was also unavailable. The defense submitted an application for adjournment, which was not objected to by the prosecution.

9News Nigeria reports that at the Wednesday’s proceedings, counsel for the first defendant, Charles Okechukwu, told the court that the defence would not be able to open its defence. “We’ve written an application for adjournment though we know that today is slated for defence, but the defence witnesses that we intended to present, are unavailable for the trial,” he said.

He explained further that one of the witnesses was bereaved and had travelled for the obsequies. “One of the witnesses lost his mother and the service of songs takes place tomorrow, so he is not in Lagos but in Bayelsa,” he said.

He also told the court that the other witness the defence intended to call was also “not available”. Additionally, he told the court that a letter had also been written to the prosecution informing them of the development and so applied for adjournment to subsisting dates.

The prosecuting counsel, S.I. Suleiman, confirmed receipt of the said letter. “We were served with the said letter yesterday and in the interest of justice, we will not object,” he said.

Counsel for the second defendant, Grace Omole, also raised no objection.

Consequently, Justice Adebiyi adjourned the trial to February 27 and 28, 2024, for the continuation of the trial. The defendants were originally arraigned on twelve-count charges related to stealing and forgery amounting to N754.8 million.