The judge, on July 21, ordered the office of AGF to take over the N5 billion fraud case shortly after the arraignment of Oduah.
By Jeffrey Agbo
Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi, has taken over the trial of former minister of aviation, Stella Oduah.
The ex-minister is being tried by the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged N5 billion fraud.
David Kaswe, the chief state counsel from the AGF’s chambers, told Justice Inyang Ekwo shortly after the matter was called for hearing on Tuesday that the AGF had taken charge of the case from the EFCC.
Kaswe sought an adjournment because the EFCC had not replied to its letter to hands off the case.
But the judge said the office of the AGF did not need to write the anti-graft agency.
Kaswe, however, said that his office took into cognisance the fact that the EFCC had just had a change of leadership.
Justice Ekwo adjourned the matter until March 28.
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The judge, on July 21, ordered the office of AGF to take over the N5 billion fraud case shortly after the arraignment of Oduah.
The development occurred after the anti-corruption agency’s lawyer, Offem Uket, was unable to provide a direct answer to the judge’s question on why the agency failed to produce in court persons behind breaching his privacy through text messages on his phone and another group who petitioned the Chief Justice of Nigeria regarding the ongoing case
Oduah, a former senator who represented Anambra North Senatorial District in the ninth National Assembly, and others were arraigned on a 25-count charge.
She was arraigned alongside CCECC Nigeria Ltd, the Nigerian subsidiary of China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) established by the Chinese government to execute international contracts and economic cooperation.
Also joined in the charge are Gloria Odita, Nwosu Nnamdi and Chukwuma Chinyere.
Others include Global Offshore and Marine Ltd, Tip Top Global Resources Ltd, Crystal Television Ltd and Sobora International Ltd.
They all pleaded not guilty to the counts and were admitted to bail in terms of the administrative bail earlier granted them by the anti-graft agency.
In the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/316/2020 and filed by the EFCC on December 17, 2020, the defendants are being accused of laundering various sums of money totalling about N5,052,415,984 between February and June 2014.
