“Concerted efforts have been made by very powerful forces within and outside the judiciary for Stella Oduah not to enter witness box to take her plea until President (Muhammadu) Buhari hands over to his successor come May 29,2023.
The planned arraignment of a former Nigerian Minister of Aviation, Senator Stella Oduah on the N7.9 billion money laundering charges on October 11 may be stalled for the seventh time before Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, SaharaReporters has gathered.
“Concerted efforts have been made by very powerful forces within and outside the judiciary for Stella Oduah not to enter witness box to take her plea until President (Muhammadu) Buhari hands over to his successor come May 29,2023.
“This explains why the planned arraignment has failed six times after EFCC (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission) finished their investigation and filed the case at the Federal High Court, Abuja since December 2020.
“This well-rehearsed orchestrated script and drama that has played out for the past two years in the Federal High Court, Abuja, before Justice Ekwo is a monumental disgrace and a slap on the anti-corruption crusade of President Buhari.
“Despite the clear provisions of the law, especially section 396 of Administration Of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA 396) that provides that Defendant has to take plea first before raising preliminary objection and also the clear letter of May 6, 2022 from the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation that she should take her plea, yet she did not take plea on the last adjourned date of May 9, 2022.
“It is most tragic and appalling that a case EFCC finished its investigation and filed at Federal High Court, Abuja since December 2020 (almost two years ago) has been stalled six times with six adjournments before Justice Inyang Ekwo, yet she refused to take her plea because of powerful forces behind her.
“That is the reason she has the audacity to be bragging that she will never enter witness court to take her plea till President Buhari hands over to a successor, come May 29, 2023,” a source told SaharaReporters.
Justice Ekwo had fixed October 11th and 12th, 2022 for Oduah to enter witness box and take her plea.
SaharaReporters exclusively reported in 2021 that her trial by the EFCC over a N7.9 billion fraud may be scuttled going by her secret plot with Senate President Ahmad Lawan and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami.
“February 22 (2021) has passed but she was not arraigned. April 19 has also passed. She is working very hard using Senate President and AGF to either scuttle arraignment or frustrate the trial. Alternatively, they are planning to water down the trial through the prosecution via the EFCC chairman.
“Another way is through the prosecutor, Dr Hassan Liman, a close friend of Lawan and the AGF,” the source had revealed to SaharaReporters.
Oduah is being prosecuted on 25 counts of money laundering alongside Gloria Odita, Nwobu Emmanuel Nnamdi, Chukuma Irene Chinyere, Global Offshore and Marine Limited, Crystal Television Limited, Sobora International Limited and the China Civil Engineering Construction Company Limited.
SaharaReporters gathered that the arraignment of the Senator was aborted at the Federal High Court in Abuja during the last adjourned date (Monday, November 22nd, 2021) over a letter written by Malami.
When Oduah and three others were called into the dock to take their plea, counsel for the 7th and 8th defendants, Ogwu James Onoja (SAN), objected to the arraignment on the ground that his clients were being persecuted by EFCC.
According to him, the aggrieved defendants had petitioned Malami, seeking a review of the charges against them.
Ogwu informed Justice Inyang Ekwo that the AGF, upon receipt of the petition, wrote the chairman of EFCC to remit the case file to his office for a review, adding that in flagrant disregard to the AGF’s letter, the EFCC had bluntly refused to remit the case file to the AGF.
He tendered a certified true copy of the AGF’s letter as received by the EFCC chairman and urged the court not to go ahead with the arraignment until the petition had been resolved in the interest of justice.
However, a lawyer for the EFCC, Ofem Uket denied any knowledge of the AGF's letter, adding that as a staff member of EFCC, he was just sighting the letter for the first time in court.
The counsel urged the court to disregard the petition by the defendants and proceed to arraign them.
He said that the AGF would have come to the court if he had any opposition to the arraignment.
However, Justice Ekwo said that since the petition was raised as both a statutory and constitutional matter by the defendants, he would not proceed.
Oduah’s planned arraignment before then in the corruption charges had been stalled five times, largely due to her absence in court.