Court fixes date for arraignment of 2 Malaysians, one other over alleged forgery

News Agency Of Nigeria

May 11, 2020 4:57 PM

An FCT High Court has fixed Wednesday, May 13 for the arraignment of two Malaysians and a Nigerian over alleged forgery.

Court fixes date for arraignment of 2 Malaysians, one other over alleged forgery. [thetrentonline]

The court granted the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) leave to arraign Saththiyaraj Kantharaja, Vinith Ukantharasa and Anthony Adetokunboh.

They were to be arraigned before Justice Olasumbo Goodluck on Monday but the court did not sit.

The ICPC alleged that the suspects were arrested for being in possession of fake Malaysian passports and making false statement.

In another development, the FCT High Court will sit every full Monday, Wednesday and Friday after thr suspension order was lifted by the FCT Judicial Service Committee following a five-week COVID-19 lockdown ordered by President Muhammad Buhari.

NAN reports that the court on May 5 began virtual proceedings in a bid to ensure efficient management of sitting on cases.

The virtual proceedings were test-run in three courts presided over by Justice Salisu Garba; Justice Hussein Baba-Yusuf and Justice Peter Affen at Maitama.

The FCT Chief Judge, Justice Ishaq Usman Bello, had on May 8 issued a Practice Direction in which he ordered the courts under the FCT judiciary to reopen for regular sittings on Sunday.

Bello directed judges and magistrates in the jurisdiction to enforce social distancing measures.

He added that the judges and magistrates should organise their cause lists to ensure that no more than five cases are fixed per day.

“In keeping with demands of social distancing, the court shall indicate in advance the sequence and specific time for hearing of cases in order to avoid the convergence of counsel and parties in the courtroom.

“The court shall allot time for each party to present his or her case, taking into consideration the peculiarities of each case in all cases; whether criminal or civil.

“Only the parties and their counsel shall be allowed into the courtroom, subject to a maximum number of 10 persons, excluding court officials, at any given time,” Justice Bello said.

News Agency Of Nigeria