NADABO MD Granted Bail
Admin l Monday, October 21, 2019
IGBOSERE, Lagos, Nigeria – Justice Christopher Balogun of Lagos High Court sitting in Igbosere, today threatened to report Lagos lawyer Emefo Etudo to the disciplinary committee of the Nigerian Bar Association(NBA) if found to have misled the court in the custody remand of the Managing Director of Nadabo Energy Oil and Gas Limited, Mr Abubakar Ali Peters.
The court revoked Peters’ bail September 25 when Etudo who was defence counsel in the alleged N978.4m oil fraud prayed the trial judge to revoke his client bail, saying he was a flight risk.
The judge had subsequently adjourned the matter twice for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) to conduct due diligence and place material facts before the court to show that the defendant is planing to abscond.
“I wish Chief Etudo is here, if at the end of this investigation I find out that chief Etudo has misled this court I will write to NBA, to discipline him. He has written two petitions against me, but he doesn’t know law if he had known law, he will know that you don’t petition a judge, if there is an error of law the only option left for you is to approach the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court”, Justice Balogun held.
In his submission before the court, counsel to the defendant Olatunbosun Adekunle, said that the defendant was just a victim of lawyer clien relationship. He said the former lawyer came to court to arm twist the court to keep the defendant in prison custody as he prayed the court to ignore all the claims of the former counsel.
The prosecution counsel Tope Banjo, said the court should decline the bail application of the defendant, because he is a flight risk, as he prayed the judge to grant accelerated hearing. Justice Balogun thereafter admitted the defendant to bail of N100million with two sureties in like sum with substantially valuable properties in Lagos to be verified by the Chief Sheriff of the court.
On September 25, the former counsel of Peters had come to court to inform the judge that he was no longer representing the defendant, because he has discovered that the defendant has been paid a large sum of money and he wants to abscond from the country.
The defendant is standing trial on a 27-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence, forgery and use of forged documents preferred against him by the EFCC.
Peters allegedly defrauded the Federal Government of Nigeria of N978.4 million by supplying 6, 505, 140.04 litres of Petroleum Motor Spirit, PMS instead of 19,488, 992 litres indicated in the contract.The Cass was however adjourned until October 28, for continuation of trial.
