The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday closed the defence of a former National Publicity of the Peoples Democratic Party, Olisa Metuh, “for want of diligent prosecution.”
Justice Okon Abang made the order bringing Metuh’s defence to an end after the defendant’s 11th witness was cross-examined on Friday.
The 11th defence witness closed his testimony in the absence of Metuh and his lawyers.
Granting the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s request to close Metuh’s defence, the judge held that the court was bound to close the defendant’s defence in the absence of any indication that he had another witness to call or application for an adjournment.
“The court is not a Father Christmas to grant an adjournment when there is no application for it.
“The first defendant’s lawyers abandoned proceedings,” he said, adding, “the first defendant will have himself to blame by engaging lawyers that abandoned the proceedings without the leave of court”.
He said, “I cannot manufacture an application for adjournment when there is none.
“Therefore, the case of the first defendant is hereby closed.”
The court in the ongoing proceedings is to later fix a date for Metuh’s co-accused, Destra Investment Limited, to open its defence.
Metuh had since his fall in court on Monday, been absent from the trial.
His lawyer, Emeka Etiaba (SAN), who had since been appearing for him, did not attend Thursday’s and Friday’s proceedings without any explanation offered for his absence.
No lawyer in the defendant’s defence team led by Etiaba and another Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu, attended the Thursday’s and Friday’s proceedings.
Justice Abang was forced to adjourn on Thursday due to the absence of legal representation for Metuh on Thursday. But on Friday, the judge ordered the continuation of the trial after overruling an objection to the application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s lawyer, Sylvanus Tahir, for the trial to proceed in the absence of Metuh and his lawyers.
The objection was raised by Tochukwu Onwugbufor (SAN), the counsel for Metuh’s co-accused, Destra Investment Limited, who had argued that the law never envisaged that a criminal trial would ever be conducted behind a defendant and his counsel.
But in dismissing the objection, Justice Abang ruled that although the court had ruled that the matter would proceed in Metuh’s absence, the absence of the defence team was designed to frustrate the trial.
The judge explained that the court did not bar Metuh from the proceedings but only held that “the trial will proceeding in his absence” due to what the court described as the defendant’s ”misconduct” in court on Monday.
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