The Federal High Court Lagos couldn’t proceed with the criminal trial of Nigerian singer Naira Marley on Wednesday due to a pending application for fiat before the Chief Judge of the court.
The prosecutor, Mrs. Bilikisu Buhari, updated Justice Isaac Dipeolu that an application for fiat, seeking approval for the former judge to continue the trial of the defendant, is currently pending approval by the Chief Judge of the court.
She mentioned that the application is dated December 8, 2023.
According to report, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is prosecuting Naira Marley on charges bordering on cyber crime.
The charges were filed by the anti-graft agency on May 14, 2019.
The artist behind the widely known song “Am I a yahoo boy, “Fashola, faced arraignment on May 20, 2019, before Justice Nicholas Oweibo. Despite pleading not guilty, Justice Oweibo granted him bail, setting the amount at N2 million and requiring two sureties to provide the same sum.
The trial is underway in the case, with witnesses continuing to provide evidence. However, Justice Oweibo, who initially presided over the matter, was subsequently transferred from the Lagos division of the court. Consequently, the case was reassigned to a new judge, Justice Dipeolu. During the initial appearance before Justice Dipeolu, Buhari represented the prosecution, while Mr. V.C Maduagwu appeared on behalf of the defendant.
The defense counsel affirmed the prosecutor’s statement to the court. After the counsel informed the new judge about the pending application for fiat, the court adjourned the case until May 30 for a report.
According to the EFCC, the defendant allegedly committed the offenses on various dates spanning from November 26, 2018, to December 11, 2018, and on May 10, 2019.
The commission claimed that Fashola and his associates collaborated to fraudulently use various Access Bank ATM cards in victimizing others. The alleged offenses are said to violate the stipulations of Sections 1, 23(1)(b), 27(1), and 33(9) of the Cyber Crime (Prohibition) Prevention Act, 2015.
