The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has amended its charges against Adeniyi Adeyemi, the alleged director-general of the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), increasing the number of counts from 22 to 36 and adding four civil servants as defendants.
The prosecution counsel, Sylvanus Tahir (SAN), disclosed this during proceedings on Monday, identifying the newly added defendants as Aminu Abdullahi, Ogaba Harry, Florence Omameh and Patricia Akhigbe.
The case was initially instituted by the Nigeria Police Force before the ICPC took over the prosecution.
Monday’s proceedings, which were scheduled for the hearing of Adeyemi’s bail application, could not proceed as planned following the amendment of the charges.
The development required all the defendants, including Adeyemi, to take their pleas. However, arraignment was stalled due to the absence of the fourth defendant, Omameh, who was reportedly unavailable on health grounds.
Tahir told the court that her absence prevented the prosecution from proceeding with the arraignment, noting that all defendants were required to be present during criminal proceedings.
He relied on Section 266 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, which provides for the presence of defendants in court, subject to specified exceptions.
The prosecution counsel consequently urged the court to grant a short adjournment to enable Omameh to recover and appear for her plea.
Counsel to Adeyemi, Ibrahim Angulu (SAN), did not oppose the amended charges or the request for an adjournment.
However, he drew the court’s attention to his client’s prolonged detention.
In his ruling, Justice Yusuf Halilu adjourned the case until November 18 for the arraignment of the defendants.
The judge also ordered that Adeyemi be returned to the Kuje Correctional Facility, while the other defendants were directed to return to the ICPC detention facility.
