Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday struck out the charge of illegal importation of 1,570 firearms brought against an oil company, Great James Oil and Gas Ltd, by the federal government.
Justice Lewis-Allagoa decided after his attention was drawn to a notice of discontinuance filed by the office of the Attorney Generals of the Federation, seeking the termination of the trial.
LEADERSHIP recalls that the judge, on April 24, 2024, sentenced two co-defendants in the charge, Moses Ifeuwa (a shipper) and Festus Emeka (a clearing agent), to two years imprisonment each, after they entered into a plea bargain agreement with the government.
The convicts were arraigned alongside Great James Oil and Gas Ltd on an eight-count charge of conspiracy, illegal importation of firearms, forgery, and alteration of custom import papers.
They were first arraigned in 2018 before Justice Saliu Saidu and trial commenced, but before the prosecution closed its case, Justice Saidu retired from the bench. The case was then reassigned to Justice Lewis-Allagoa.
The convicts changed their pleas based on their plea bargain agreement with the office of the AGF, and the court convicted them.
In his judgement, the court relied on relevant provisions of the ACJA regarding plea bargain and, consequently, sentenced the convicts to two years’ imprisonment each.
However, the court gave the convicts an option of a One-Million-Naira fine on each of the eight counts, totalling N8 million.
At the resumed hearing of the case on Wednesday, the prosecutor, Joshua Alma, informed the court of an application seeking to discontinue the proceedings against the first defendant, Great James Oil and Gas Ltd.
He told the judge that the application was brought under the provisions of section 108 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015.
After listening to the lawyer, the judge granted the application and, consequently, struck out the charge against the oil company.
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