From the Court

Saadu Alanamu: Produce witnesses, other documents, court tells ICPC

 

By Kayode Adeoti

The High Court sitting in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, last Thursday declared that the suit between the Independence Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and its board nominee, Saadu Alanamu over bribery allegation will be going for full hearing on October 23-24, 2017.
The trial judge, Justice Mahmud Abdul Gafar also ordered the ICPC to come with its witnesses and other related documents to back the involvement of the former chairman of the Governing Council of Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin in the alleged scam.
Recall that Alanamu was arraigned for allegedly collecting N5million from a contractor to facilitate a project during his tenure at Kwara Poly.
He was charged to court alongside the Executive Director of Namylas Nigeria Limited, Salman Suleiman.
At the last adjourned date, Alanamu had pleaded not guilty to the 8-count charge of bribery and other related crimes read to him by the court. He had also vowed to make himself available in court as the case last so as to prove he is innocent of the allegation.
At the resumed proceedings last Thursday, the commission’s counsel, Sunny Ezeana told the court that the defendants counsel has failed to adhere to court directives to formalise the pre-trial process.
According to him, the counsels to the defendant ought to have called him for dialogue and also file in some processes in respect of the pre-trial before today (Thursday).
In his response, the defendants’ counsel, Tunde Olomu submitted that the law doesn’t allow for pre-trial conference in criminal matters adding that it is only effective in criminal cases.
He said, “The prosecutor failed to realise that pre-trial doesn’t work in criminal case but civil, yet he prayed the court to adjourn on that ground. The law is clear on this matter,”
Justice Gafar in ceding to the submission of the defence counsel however adjourned the matter to 23rd and 24th of October, 2017 for hearing and ordered that the prosecutor should prepare his witnesses and documents.

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