The trial of a former governor of Taraba State, Jolly Nyame, who is being prosecuted for a N1.64 billion fraud could not go on as expected on Wednesday, March 8, as his defence team failed to produce its witnesses in court.
Justice Adebukola Banjoko of the Federal Capital Territory, High Court, Gudu, had on February 14, dismissed Nyame’s no-case submission as lacking in merit, and ordered him to begin his defence on Wednesday.
The trial judge had held that “Having had a close look at the evidence and exhibits, I hold that this case requires him to provide information and give explanation with regards to evidence presented by the prosecution, and so he is ordered to enter into his defence in the interest of justice.”
At the resumed sitting, Olalekan Ojo, Nyame’s counsel, told the court that he had challenges in bringing three witnesses, which the defence had earlier told the court that it intends to call, to testify in defence of Nyame.
“We had conducted conferences with one of the witnesses, but unfortunately, the witness was unable to be here,” he said.
He informed the court that the first defence witness was a police officer from Gombe State, and “we have decided that it will be necessary to have a subpoena served on him in order to compel his presence in court.”
He thereafter, pleaded with the court for an adjournment, as “failure to bring our witnesses to court was not anticipated.”
Justice Banjoko, who had earlier ruled that the trial would be on a day-to-day basis, was however, compelled to adjourn to April 24.
