An Ikeja High Court on Tuesday issued a bench warrant on two oil marketers, Oluwaseun Ogunbambo and Habila Theck, for failing to attend their trial without cogent reasons.
The warrant was issued by Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo on the marketers who are standing trial for an alleged N979.6 million fuel subsidy fraud.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the judge also revoked the bail earlier granted to the first accused (Ogunbambo).
Ogunbambo and Theck were charged alongside their firm — Fargo Energy Ltd. — by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
They were arraigned on a six-count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining money by false pretences, forgery and use of forged documents.
At Tuesday’s proceedings, the duo failed to appear in court, prompting the EFCC counsel, Mr Francis Usani, to ask the court to issue warrants on them.
Usani said there was no medical report to back Ogunbambo’s claim that his absence was as a result of ill-health.
He said the absence had stalled the hearing of the application to quash the charges filed by Ogunbambo, through his counsel, Mr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN).
Usani said it was a ploy to delay the trial as the defence legal team was not represented at the last proceedings that led to an adjournment.
The case was adjourned till Sept. 16 for further hearing.