Justice Nathaniel Ayo-Emmanuel of the Federal High Court, Ibadan, on Wednesday adjourned till November 18 the trial of some accused persons in the N8bn currency scam following the illegibility of copies of documentary evidence produced by the EFCC.
Ayo-Emmanuel said that it was necessary to give all the parties concerned in the matter equal opportunity to read what was contained in the first two sheets of the documentary evidence given by a prosecution witness, Omotayo Igbosanu.
All the defence counsel had complained about their inability to read the documentary evidence made by Igbosanu as contained in the illegible pages.
Kolawole Babalola, Adeola Olaniran, Philip Togun, Ibrahim Salami, Emmanuel Odiah and Tope Akintade, along with others, have been standing trial on multiple charges.
The charges bordered on alleged conspiracy, forgery, theft and re-circulation of N8bn currencies belonging to the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Igbosanu, the Head of Currency Processing and Disposal Unit of CBN, Ibadan branch, told the court that the accused persons only destroyed N98m out of the possible N610m.
He added that Sterling Bank of Nigeria sent 61 boxes containing a total sum of N610m out of which the accused persons replaced cut newspapers or lower denominations with moneys meant for destruction.
Meanwhile, the prosecuting counsel, Mr. Adebisi Adeniyi, announced to the court that Akintade, one of the accused persons, had begun the process for plea bargain arrangement with EFCC.
Adeniyi, however, said that the arrangement was yet to be completed with the defence counsel, Femi Edema.
Akintade had complained of being a prostrate cancer patient.
(NAN)
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