The planned arraignment of prominent business figures, Oba Otudeko, and Olabisi Onasanya, alongside others, was stalled on Monday, at the Federal High Court due to their absence, as well as unresolved issues around the serving of charges.
Otudeko, the Chairman of Honeywell Group, and Onasanya, the former Managing Director of First Bank, were due in court to face a 13-count charge related to the alleged fraudulent acquisition of N12.3 billion from First Bank.
However, both were absent from the court proceedings, although they were represented by their counsel.
Bode Olanipekun, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) representing Otudeko, raised concerns about the fairness of the process, stating that neither he nor any of the defendants had been served the charges.
He explained that they were only made aware of the arraignment through media reports, a situation he described as “unfair” and “most shocking.”
Olanipekun presented copies of the national newspapers that reported the arraignment, highlighting the fact that his client had not received any official notification.
Similarly, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, SAN, who appeared for Onasanya, confirmed that his client had not been served with the charges but had obtained a copy by printing it from the internet.
Counsel for the third and fourth defendants, Mr. Kehinde Ogunwumiju and Mr. Charles Adeogun-Philips, also voiced their protests, asserting that their clients had not been formally served with the charges.
In response, the prosecution, led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Rotimi Oyedepo, informed the court that several attempts had been made to serve the defendants at their last known addresses in Ikoyi, without success.
Oyedepo then requested the court to grant an application for substituted service, which Justice Chukwuejekwu Aneke granted.
Following the court’s directive, Olumide-Fusika, representing Onasanya, agreed to accept service on behalf of his client, as he had already taken steps to print out the charge.
The prosecutor promptly provided a copy of the charge to Olumide-Fusika in court.
Justice Aneke adjourned the case until February 13 for the formal arraignment of all the defendants.
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