» CBN N8bn Scam Suspect Has Hole In The Heart - Lawyer «

Justice Olayinka Faaji of the Federal High
Court, Ibadan Division, has been told that
one of the suspects in the N8bn mutilated
currency fraud suit, involving staff of the
Central Bank of Nigeria and other
commercial banks, has been diagnosed as
having a in the heart.
Yakubu Ruba, who is the counsel for the
suspect, Dolapo Oni, told Faaji that his client
was diagnosed with hypertensive heart
disease at the University College Hospital,
Ibadan, and was unable to make it to the
court because of ill health.
He produced a letter from the hospital,
stating that the hospital had no facility to
treat him immediately.
Ruba also made an oral application, praying
the court to allow his client to be transfer to
Lagos for treatment.
Oni, Afolabi Olunike, Ademola Adewale and
Omotosho Abimbola, who is now at large,
are standing trial for economic crime
involving N1.7bn.
They are being prosecuted by the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission.
But Justice Faaji frowned on the counsel oral
application, saying since he was not
informed that Oni was being taken to the
hospital for treatment and diagnosis by the
prison management, there was no point
seeking his approval for hid transfer to
Lagos.
Ruba told journalists after the proceeding
that his client deserved the best treatment to
stand a chance of continuing the trial.
He said, “My client is seriously sick with a
hole in the heart in prison custody but the
court insisted that we should come
properly and unfortunately, the court is
going on vacation today until around
September 15 before the court resumes.”
Also on Friday, Justice Faaji ruled against the
prayer of one of the counsel for the accused
persons to withdraw from the case on the
ground of bias.
The counsel for two of the suspects,
Olalekan Ojo, had appealed against Justice
Faaji’s ruling, which turned down his bail
application for his clients.
Ojo had also urged the judge to hand off
the case, arguing that Justice Faaji’s
pronouncement, while denying the bail
application, showed that he had presumed
the accused guilty before hearing the case.
The counsel also called for a stay of
proceeding pending the determination of
the Appeal Court on the bail application.
While Justice Faaji granted the stay of
proceeding, he however ruled out
disqualifying himself from the case.
Delivering his ruling in the case which
involved Kolawole Babalola, Olaniran
Adeola, Toogun Philip, Isaac Akano,
Ayodele Adeyemi, Oyebamiji Akeem,
Ayodeji Aleshe and Ajiwe Adegoke, the
judge said, “I therefore grant the prayer of
the motion filed on June 26, 2015 as prayed
since the appeal, relating to charges FH/
IB/32c-34c, is pending summons
application. This motion applies to the three
other charges.”