Alleged forgery: Absence of judge stalls trial of ex-NIRSAL MD

The absence of Justice Inyang Ekwo of a Federal High Court in Abuja, on Tuesday, stalled the trial of Aliyu Abdulhameed, former Managing Directing, Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) Plc.

The matter, which was on number two on the day’s cause list, could not proceed as Justice Ekwo was said to be in another official engagement.

The case was subsequently fixed for Nov. 25 for commencement of trial.

Abdulhameed and his co-defendant, Babangida Abdullahi, were arraigned on March 13 on a 10-count charge before the judge but pleaded not guilty to the counts.

They were, however, admitted to terms of administrative bail earlier granted to them by the police.

The criminal charge, dated and filed Nov. 28, 2023 by CSP Celestine Odo, Legal/Prosecution Counsel of the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters, was marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/555/2023.

In the charge, the defendants and others now at large, were alleged to have, about Oct. 23, 2023, conspired among themselves to commit an offence of forgery.

In count two, the defendants and others now at large, sometime in Oct. 23, 2023, were alleged to have conspired among themselves to commit the offence.

The offences are said to be contrary to Section 3(6) and punishable under Section 1(2){c} of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, Cap. M17, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2010.

The former President Muhammadu Buhari had, on Dec. 1, 2022, fired Abdulhammed on allegations of corruption bordering on agric loans.

NIRSAL, a $500m non-bank financial institution, is a creation of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) mandated to manage agribusiness-related credit risks in Nigeria.