{"id":28086,"date":"2018-11-12T10:12:38","date_gmt":"2018-11-12T09:12:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/?p=28086"},"modified":"2018-11-12T10:12:38","modified_gmt":"2018-11-12T09:12:38","slug":"n754-8-million-nimasa-fraud-efcc-withdraws-charges-against-four-defendants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/n754-8-million-nimasa-fraud-efcc-withdraws-charges-against-four-defendants\/","title":{"rendered":"N754.8 million NIMASA Fraud: EFCC Withdraws Charges Against  Four Defendants"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"yiv8362287430yMail_cursorElementTracker_1541936294564\">The trial of\u00a0 former Director-General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency NIMASA, Dr. Patrick Ziadeke Akpobolokeme and five others currently standing trial for allegedly stealing the sum of N754.8 million, has taken a new dimension as\u00a0 the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has decided to withdraw charges against three of the defendants and made them its witnesses in an amended charge.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div id=\"yiv8362287430yMail_cursorElementTracker_1541917649927\">In the original charge filed before a Lagos high court, Akpolobokeme is standing trial before the\u00a0 Court alongside Captain Ezekiel Bala Agaba, Vincent Udoye, Ekene Nwakuche, Governor Amechee Juan and Captain Adegboyega Olopoenia Shaib and a company, Gama Marine Nigeria<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div id=\"yiv8362287430yMail_cursorElementTracker_1541917732053\">However, in the amended 12 counts charge dated November 1st, 2018 filed before the court, three of the defendants, Ekene Nwakuche, Governor Amechee Juan and Captain Adegboyega Olopoenia Shaib were removed from the new charge and they were listed as additional witnesses in the attached proof of evidence\u00a0 to the new charge to\u00a0 testify in the case.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div id=\"yiv8362287430yMail_cursorElementTracker_1541917905888\">When the case was mentioned the EFCC legal officer Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, told the court presided over by Justice\u00a0 Raliat Adeniyi, that the anti-graft agency had amended the charge before the court and removed the names of Nwakuche, Governor Juan and Olopoenia from the charge and make them prosecution witnesses based on emerging facts that they are not culpable\u00a0 in the case.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>In his reaction counsel to Governor Juan, Barrister Ige Asemudara, said right from onset it was made known to EFCC that his client has no case to answer, so there was no need for plea bargaining as it was being insinuated,there was no time his client, Governor Juan and others had a plea deal with the agency, rather it was the agency that spoke with his client and others that the charge will be withdrawn against them and later decided to make them prosecution witnesses. Withdrawing the charge against him reinforces\u00a0 our position from the beginning that he ought not to have been\u00a0 charged&#8221;.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div id=\"yiv8362287430yMail_cursorElementTracker_1541920713699\">Following the application to amend the charge, the Presiding Judge Raliat Adebiyi While adjourning till 30th day of November,2018\u00a0 for\u00a0 continuation of trial struck out the former charge.<\/div>\n<\/p><div data-ad-id=\"32665\" style=\"text-align:center; margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px;float:none;\" class=\"afw afw_ad_image afw_ad afwadid-32665  \">\r\n                                                            <div style=\"font-size:10px;text-align:center;color:#cccccc;\">Advertisement<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.accessbankplc.com\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" height=\"auto\" max-width=\"100%\" src=\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Banner-1.jpg\"><\/a>\r\n                                                                        \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The trial of\u00a0 former Director-General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency NIMASA, Dr. Patrick Ziadeke Akpobolokeme and five others currently standing trial for allegedly stealing the sum of N754.8 million, has taken a new dimension as\u00a0 the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has decided to withdraw charges against three of the defendants and &hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":25016,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,18,1593,17],"tags":[743],"coauthors":[2391],"class_list":["post-28086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-business","category-crime","category-metro","category-news","tag-nimasa"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v18.9 - 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