The trial of Abdulrasheed Maina, former Chairman, defunct Pension Reform Task Team (PRTM), was, on Thursday, discontinued at the Federal High Court, Abuja, due to his worsening health condition.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Maina had, on Oct. 25, been arraigned alongside a firm, Common Input Property and Investment Ltd, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before Justice Okon Abang.
Maina is standing trial on alleged money laundering charges to the tune of over N2 billion preferred against him by the EFCC.
While Maina is the 1st defendant in the case, the company was the 2nd defendant.
Though he pleaded not guilty to the 12-count charges, his trial has yet to make meaningful progress due to his failing health.
After his arraignment on Oct. 25, the former pension reform boss had claimed that he took ill and was unable to attend his trial.
He had also, on Nov. 7, come into the court on wheelchair.
His absence in court on Nov. 13 forced the court to adjourn proceedings to Thursday, with an order on the Deputy Comptroller General of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) in charge of Health and Social Welfare, H.B. Kori to conduct a thorough examination on Maina, in order to ascertain his health status.
When the matter came up on Thursday, the prosecution counsel, Mohammed Abubakar informed the court that the business of the day was to take response to the submissions of the first and second defendants’ objections to the admissibility of document the prosecution wanted to tender in evidence.
However, Maina’s lawyer, Francis Oronsaye, drew the court’s attention to the deteriorating health of his client.
“My Lord, my client is bleeding and I will seek your indulgence to allow him take his medication,” he said.
NAN reports that Maina was brought to court in the morning with the aid of two people.
Oronsaye told Justice Abang that due to his deteriorating health condition, Maina would not be able to stand the trial.
He pleaded with the judge to shift the trial pending the time the defendant would recover to be able to stand for his defence in the criminal charges against him.
The request for adjournment was not opposed by counsel to the EFCC, Mr Mohammed Abubakar.
But, counsel to the 2nd defendant, Adeola Adedipe, told the court that the business of the day was for the report from the NCS on the health status of Maina, ruling on Maina’s bail application and to take reaction of the prosecution on the objections by the defendants on the admissibility of the document it sought to tender.
Adedipe told the court that he was not ready to go on with the trial, unless the issues were addressed by the court, otherwise, the proceedings of the court would be set aside by the Court of Appeal.
Justice Abang, who was unhappy over the comment by Adedipe, condemned the remark, describing it as unethical and contemptuous.
He said the court would not hesitate to order the police to walk out any counsel or anybody that attempt to frustrate the proceedings of the court in subsequent sittings.
The judge also accused the NCS of compounding the issue before the court because it failed to produce a medical report on the health status of Maina, 15 days after the order to that effect was made by the court.
Justice Abang, however, conceded to the application for adjournment and fixed Nov. 25 for ruling on the bail application and continuation of trial, which according to him, would be on a day-to-day basis.
