Lagos - The case involving a
former governor of Bayelsa
State, Timipre Sylva, has been
adjourned Wednesday next
week.
Sylva, along with Francis
Okokwo, Gbenga Balogun, and
Samuel Ogbuku, allegedly used
three companies, Marlin
Maritime Limited, Eat Catering
Services Limited, and
Haloween-Blue Construction
and Logistics Limited to move
about N19,2 billion from
Bayelsa State coffers between
2009 and 2012, under false
pretence of using the
withdrawn money to augment
salaries of the state
government workers.







Since the matter began in
2013, several applications filed
by the defence, have made it
difficult for Sylva to be
arraigned.
At the last sitting last
Thursday, Justice Mohammed
had in his ruling dismissed an
application brought before it
by the third accused, Gbenga
Balogun, through his counsel
Israel Olorundare, praying the
court to first determine the
legal standing of the lead
prosecution counsel, Rotimi
Jacobs, to handle the matter,
as well as a motion challenging
the competence of the 42-
count charge.
At the resumed sitting this
Thursday, the court was to
hear all pending applications
before it with regards to the
matter. Notable was an
application filed by counsel to
Sylva, challenging the charges
brought against his client by
the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission and
another application by Ogbuku,
challenging the power of the
EFCC to prosecute the case,
claiming that only the Attorney
General had the power to do
so.
In his argument, Jacobs told
the court that, he only got the
application filed last week and
that he would need time to go
through it for appropriate
action.
He argued that the application
seemed like a calculated
attempt to drag the matter
further, since the charges
which they are challenging was
served them since 2013.
"We served them this charges
since 2013, why are they now
just waking up from their
slumber," Jacobs said.
Justice Mohammed adjourned
the case for hearing on all
pending applications.
source:http://www.news24.com.ng/Elections/News/Ex-Bayelsa-Governor-Sylvas-case-deferred-20150521

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