The trial of several foreign nationals arrested in December 2024 by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for alleged cybercrime and cyber terrorism was delayed on Monday due to the interpreter’s late arrival in court.
The interpreter was responsible for translating the charges and proceedings from English to Mandarin for the defendants.
Trial judge, Justice Olayinka Faji, had allocated a strict 10am slot for the hearing due to a busy court schedule. However, when the case was called, the prosecution counsel, Hannatu Kofarnaisa, informed the court that the defendants had not yet arrived. The proceedings were temporarily stood down.
When the defendants eventually arrived, the case was recalled, but it was discovered that the interpreter had not yet reached the courtroom. The judge refused to delay proceedings further and proceeded to adjourn the matter. The interpreter eventually arrived at 10:48am, but the court insisted on using the original interpreter from the defendants’ arraignment for consistency.
One of the defence counsels, Nkereuwem Abraham, requested an adjournment to ensure compliance with the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, which guarantees every defendant adequate facilities for their defence. However, the court ruled that sufficient time had already been given since the defendants’ arraignment.
Another defence counsel, Ayo Olaiya, informed the court of a pending bail application for his clients.
Justice Faji has adjourned the case to 4th and 5th March for the commencement of trial and the hearing of bail applications.
On 6th February, the EFCC arraigned Zhao Ying Bin, Yu Zi (a.k.a. Wei Xuehuan), Zhang Yang, Wang Zhi Cheng, and Genting International Co. Limited for allegedly accessing computer systems to destabilise Nigeria’s constitutional structure, engaging in cyber-related crimes, and recruiting Nigerian youths for identity theft.
The EFCC also accused Zhao Ying Bin of falsely representing himself as “Lisi Chuan” on Telegram with the intent of fraudulently obtaining financial instruments.
These offences are punishable under the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015 (as amended in 2024).