(NIGERIA) Justice Mohammed Yunusa of a Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos today declared that he would deliver ruling on an application instituted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), seeking to separate former governor of Enugu State, Chimaroke Nnamani from other defendants in the criminal charge initiated against him by the anti-graft agency, on January 23, 2015.
The judge arrived at the decision, after informing lawyers in the matter that the ruling was not ready.
It would be recalled that the EFCC had at the last sitting on the matter insisted that the trial of Nnamani for seven years without any headway, only amounted to judicial rascality which the judiciary must deal with head on.
The anti-graft agency through its lawyer, Kelvin Uzozie argued that the matter had been stalled severally on account of Nnamani's frequent applications to travel abroad for medical treatment.
The EFCC lawyer posited that from the records of the court, it was clear that Nnamani had always applied to court to be allowed to travel out of the country on ground of ill-health.
Uzozie said, "It is a scandal that a criminal case that the law says must be speedily concluded has not even proceeded to trial more than seven years after it was filed."
But lawyer to the former governor, Ricky Tarfa (SAN) in objecting to the EFCC's submission suggested that the anti-graft agency should deal with the arguments in respect of the motion to separate other accused persons from Nnamani.
The former governor alongside others were first charged before the court in 2007 over alleged economic crime, money laundering and financial impropriety to the tune of N5 billion.
According to the application for separate trial, EFCC had urged the court to separate Nnamani from other accused persons so that his frequent medical trips abroad would no longer stall the trial of other accused persons.
In the application brought pursuant to Section 155 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 2004, the anti-graft agency want the court to allow the trial of Nnamani and his former aide, Sunday Onyekazur Anyaogu to be conducted separately from the six companies charged along with them.
The companies are Rainbownet Nigeria Limited, Hillgate Nigeria Limited, Cosmo FM, Capital City Automobile (Nig) Limited, Renaissance University Teaching Hospital (Renaissance University) and Mea Mater Elizabeth High School.
The anti-graft agency insisted that the application became necessary owing to the need for a speedy conclusion to be arrived at in respect of the assets and liabilities of the companies, which are corporate entities, as the said assets may become obsolete and seriously eroded if the companies were not separately tried.
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