A Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin has again adjourned the trial of the five accused who allegedly took part in the April 5, 2018 Offa bank robbery till March 14.
The hearing, which was slated to hold between February 19 and 20, was stalled due to the absence of the defence counsel, Mathias Emeribe.
The accused, who were facing five charges preferred against them by the prosecution were Ayoade Akinnibosun, Ibikunle Ogunleye, Adeola Abraham, Salaudeen Azeez and Niyi Ogundiran. They were all brought to court for Tuesday’s trial.
But the prosecuting counsel, Prof. Wahab Egbewole, SAN, announced the absence of the defence counsel, saying Emeribe called and sent a text message to him about what he described as “life-threatening experience on the road” and suggested adjournment, which the court reluctantly granted.
The presiding judge, Justice Halimat Salman, who expressed disappointment about the absence of the defence counsel, said the prosecution counsel should have asked for details of the “life threatening experience” of the defence counsel.
She adjourned the case till March 14 and 15, 2019.
Speaking with journalists after the sitting, Egbewole said the defence counsel suggested a date after the the general elections that would hold across the country between February 23 and March 9, 2019.
“This is just to show on the part of the prosecution that we have arranged our witnesses because we have them here from Plateau and Zamfara states to ensure that the trial of the accused proceeds; but here we are,” he said.
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