No Evidence Emefiele Is 'Sick' - Court Refuses Ex-CBN Gov Abroad Medical Trip ~ OsazuwaAkonedo
No Evidence Emefiele Is 'Sick' - Court Refuses Ex-CBN Gov Abroad Medical Trip ~ OsazuwaAkonedo #cbn #Emefiele #Godwin #Hamza #Mu #news #UK https://osazuwaakonedo.news/no-evidence-emefiele-is-sick-court-refuses-ex-cbn-gov-abroad-medical-trip/16/07/2024/ #EFCC Published: July 16th, 2024 Reshared: July 16, 2024 4:35 pm Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has refused to grant medical leave application filed by
Transcript
00:00Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has refused to grant medical leave application filed by former
00:04governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, guarding MFLA on the ground that there is
00:08no evidence that the former Apex Bank governor is plagued with any ailment.
00:12The court on Tuesday thereafter refused to release his international passport to travel
00:15to the United Kingdom for medical treatment. Details of the court proceeding as made available
00:20by the Public Relations Unit of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC in its
00:24news release few minutes ago are presented verbatim below.
00:27Justice Hamza Mouazou of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT High Court Mytema, Abuja on
00:32Tuesday, July 16, 2024, dismissed the application of a former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria,
00:37CBN, Mr. guarding MFLA for a leave of the court to travel to the United Kingdom,
00:41UK, for medical examination, stating that there was no evidence to show that the defendant is
00:45plagued by any ailment. MFLA had, through his lawyer, Ladi Lawal on Monday, July 8, 2024,
00:50filed an affidavit seeking the release of his passport to enable him embark on a UK medical
00:55which was opposed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC through its Prosecution
00:59Council, Mohamed Abbas Omiza. Omiza, through a counter-affidavit, told the court that there
01:04was no medical report before it that showed that the defendant was plagued by an ailment,
01:08and if there was, no evidence was advanced by the defense to show that it could not be
01:12treated locally in Nigeria. The Prosecution Council in addition noted that MFLA deposited
01:17his passport with the court as part of the fulfillment of his bail conditions,
01:20arguing that releasing it to him would amount to the court varying his bail conditions.
01:24Arguing also that MFLA was a flight risk, the Prosecution Council noted that the defendant
01:29has co-conspirators all over the world. Juan Anita and Tony are all heirs of the defendant who
01:33are currently in the UK. The defendant might be tempted to jump bail because he is standing trial
01:38in three different courts. In response, the Defense Council dismissed the prosecution's
01:42arguments as speculative, noting that the EFCC can issue an international raid alert on MFLA
01:47to enable his arrest if he made the foreign medical trip and refused to come back. In dismissing the
01:52application on Tuesday, Justice Mazu held that there was no medical report indicating that
01:57MFLA was plagued by any ailment and that the fact that he is standing trial in three different
02:01courts was fatal to the application. It is an exercise of the court's discretion to allow
02:05the defendant to go on a medical trip. The defendant through his counsel undertook an
02:09affidavit to produce him in court, and his offenses are available and where there is
02:13need for the court to grant him the application to travel, the court should do so, but as it is,
02:18I failed to see any letter of medication in the defendant's applications. As it stands,
02:22I cannot exercise my discretion to allow the defendant to travel out of the shores of the
02:26country. Moreover, he is also standing trial in three other courts. Therefore, the application
02:30has failed, and hereby dismissed, the judge held. The EFCC is prosecuting MFLA on 20 count
02:36amended charges bordering on conformance of corrupt advantages, conspiracy, criminal breach of trust,
02:41forgery, and obtaining by force pretenses to the tune of $6,230,000, $6,230,000.