Ladoja’s trial for alleged N4.7b theft aborted

The trial of former Oyo State Governor Rashidi Ladoja was aborted on Tuesday after Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court in Lagos insisted that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) must comply with the law.

Eight years after he was first arraigned, EFCC re-arraigned Ladoja for allegedly converting N4.7billion from the state treasury to his personal use.

He was charged along with Waheed Akanbi on eight counts of money laundering and unlawful conversion of public funds.

Prosecution counsel Femi Olabisi called his first witness, an EFCC investigator, Abdullahi Lawal.

Ladoja

As Lawal was about to begin his testimony, Ladoja’s lawyer Bolaji Onilenle and Akanbi’s lawyer Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika objected on the basis that he was not listed as a witness.

Onilenle said: “His name is not on the list of witnesses. We are surprised. Section 379 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 mandates the prosecution to make a list of witnesses available to defendants.”

Olumide-Fusika said he has no idea what the witness was going to say and was not prepared to cross-examine him.

“EFCC ought to be ready before bringing us to court. It must be ready before arraignment,” he said.

Olabisi apologised, saying the case was prepared before the ACJA came into effect.
He sought for more time to “put his house in order”.