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A Federal Capital Territory Excessive Court docket sitting in Maitama on Wednesday struck out the case in opposition to the previous Director of Authorized, Ministry of Petroleum Assets, Grace Taiga.
Taiga was accused of bribery within the controversial Gasoline Provide Processing settlement between Course of and Industrial Improvement and the Federal Authorities.
She was first arraigned on September 20, 2019, within the case marked, FCT/HC/CR/504/19.
There have been additional amendments to the costs in opposition to Taiga.
She was subsequently re-arraigned twice on October 3, 2020, and January 10, 2021.
Within the amended 13-count most popular in opposition to her by the Financial and Monetary Crimes Fee, Taiga was accused of receiving a bribe via her offshore checking account in signing the controversial GPSA.
The anti-graft company claimed that she violated numerous legal guidelines by getting into into the settlement with out the approval of the Federal Government Council and with out acquiring a Certificates of No Objection to the contract from the Bureau of Public Enterprise.
She, nonetheless, pleaded not responsible to the costs.
The EFCC closed its case on February 27, 2023, after calling eight witnesses.
The courtroom then adjourned until November 4, 2023, for the defendant to open her defence.
Nonetheless, when the case resumed on November 4, 2023, Taiga’s lawyer, Daniel Alumun, instructed the courtroom that the defendant had died on August 1, 2023, at a hospital in Abuja.
Alumum then urged the decide to dismiss the case, a prayer that the EFCC expressed reservation about.
On the final adjourned date, the EFCC demanded to see her loss of life certificates earlier than the case might be struck out.
On the courtroom proceedings on Wednesday, Alumun introduced the Licensed True Copy of Taiga’s loss of life certificates.
He instructed the courtroom that he already served the prosecution in addition to the courtroom.
Alumun added that the loss of life was registered on February 29, 2024, with the Nationwide Inhabitants Fee.
In his submission, counsel for the EFCC, Mohammed Hussain confirmed he had been served Taiga’s loss of life certificates.
Primarily based on the loss of life certificates, he urged the courtroom to strike out the case in opposition to the defendant.
Justice Olukayode Adeniyi, thereafter, struck out the case.
“The defendant’s counsel having produced the loss of life certificates within the case in opposition to the defendant is hereby struck out,” he held.
PUNCH reviews {that a} London arbitration courtroom held that the method via which P&ID secured the 2010 contract to construct a fuel processing plant in Calabar, Cross River State, was fraudulent.
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