By Olawale Akinremi
Ibadan – Justice Joyce Abumaleek of the Federal High Court, Ibadan, on Tuesday dismissed the application asking the court to decline jurisdiction filed by one Festus Adeyemi in the N8 billion CBN currency scam suit.
Citing various aspects of the law, Abdumaleek said that the court had been fully empowered by the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), the EFCC Act and the Nigerian constitution to entertain cases like this.
“ It is not an abuse of court process for the EFCC to go ahead with this case and this court has jurisdiction to entertain the matter.
“The application asking this court to decline jurisdiction is hereby dismissed,” the judge ruled.
Abdulmaleek adjourned the case till Oct. 25 for further trial.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Adeyemi, the fifth accused person, had through his counsel, Mr Babatunde Akinola, asked the court to decline jurisdiction on the matter.
But Mr Adebisi Adeniyi, the counsel to the EFCC, had opposed the application.
Adeniyi told the court that the Court of Appeal had given the Federal High Court jurisdiction on the matter.
Similarly, the bail application filed by all the accused persons in the sister case was equally rejected by the court.
Mr R.O Sadiq, the lead counsel to the accused persons, had submitted that his clients were critically ill.
Sadiq contended that the medical facilities in Agodi prisons were not adequate enough to cater for his ailing clients.
NAN reports that Kolawole Babalola, Kayode Togun, Isiaka Akao, Ayodele Alese, Sunday Ajuwe along with others had since 2015 been standing trial for alleged conspiracy and re-circulation of mutilated N8 billion currency at the Ibadan office of CBN. (NAN)
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