BY ANTHONY OCHELA, ABUJA
Justice Samira Bature of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court, sitting in Maitama, on Monday, gave a property developer, Cecil Osakwe, the last chance to make himself available for arraignment in the suit in which the Federal Government has charged him and two others of alleged illegal eviction.
Justice Bature took the decision after agreeing with the prosecution counsel that the court cannot continue to wait for the 1st defendant indefinitely.
At the resumed sitting of the court in the suit marked: FCT/HC/CR/22/2023 only the 2nd defendant, a lawyer, Victor Giwa and the 3rd defendant were present.
Prosecution counsel, M. O. Una, pointed out that the 1st defendant has again and for the 5th time failed to appear before the court for his arraignment.
Una said he is surprised the 1st defendant is not in court as the matter suffered a similar fate at the last sitting with the prosecution asking the court to invoke its powers to compel the 1st defendant’s appearance.
Una noted that the matter commenced in 2023 and even in 2025 it is still going back and forth on the issue of arraignment because of the 1st defendants persistent failure to appear, saying the prosecution is repeating its call to the court to utilize its powers to make the 1st defendant act right.
He said the development was unfortunate considering the history of the case and it has become very obvious that the defendant is avoiding arraignment.
In his argument Counsel to the 1st defendant, Chibunna Odiniru, said they have two applications before the court for consideration and while one has to do with jurisdiction the other is seeking leave of the court for adjournment because the 1st defendant is incapacitated in hospital abroad and they have a doctor’s report to present before the court.
Odiniru told the court that counsels were only able to reach Mr. Cecil Osakwu through the family and were told he was in a hospital in the United States facing life threatening medical conditions.
He insisted that the 1st defendant is not intentionally staying away from the proceedings of the court as no individual will deliberately wish sickness upon himself.
Presenting the medical report before the court, Odiniru said the 1st defendant will require eight weeks of intensive medical care to enable him be fit for trial saying “ this is a prosecution and not persecution and no one should deny him medical help because we are not supposed to be gathering for his burial.”
Odiniru further said he will undertake to ensure that the 1st defendant is present for arraignment at the next adjourned date if the court will indulge them one last time.
The prosecution counsel reminded the court that this is not the first time, but about the third time, that the 1st defendant is asking for adjournment on the evidence of a medical report but that did not go down with the defence counsel who insisted it was the first.
The 2nd defendant had tried to argue that the 1st defendant was in court on the very first day of the case but because the court was not sitting the matter was adjourned but both the judge and the prosecution faulted him on that.
Justice Bature thereafter adjourned the matter to March 17 for arraignment.
“The court have taken a judicial notice of the serial adjournments, we are constrained again to adjourn the matter.
“If the defendant fails to appear, we have no option to concede to the demand of the prosecution counsel to issue a warrant of arrest on the 1st defendant.
“A month is enough for the 1st defendant and the counsel to get their acts together and be ready for arraignment” the court held.
The 3rd defendant was again in court without legal representation and Justice Bature insisted that the situation cannot continue like that while asking the prosecution counsel to confer with her to ensure she secures representation.
The defendants are facing a nine-count charge bordering on unlawful eviction and criminal intimidation and threat to life and damage to property to the tune of N300 million.
