P&ID: Court Adjourns Lagos Ex-AG’s Trial Over Disagreements On Documents

Justice Mojisola Dada of the Lagos State Special Offences Court has adjourned the trial of a former Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice Olasupo Shasore (SAN) to June 10 over the disagreement between the prosecution and the defence over the services of some legal documents.

While the counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Bala Sanga, insisted that the documents had been served on the defence, Shasore’s lawyer Muiz Banire (SAN) denied receiving them.

The defendant was arraigned before Justice Dada on a two-count charge of corruptly offering $200,000 to a former director in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Olufolakemi Adetore and a lawyer in the Ministry, Ikechukwu Oguine.

The anti-graft agency claimed in the charge that the embattled senior lawyer gave them the money for their alleged role in the arbitral proceedings instituted by Process and Industrial Developments (P&ID) against the federal government.

He, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

At the court’s last sitting, one of the defence lawyers, Chijioke Okoli (SAN), had asked the court for an adjournment pending the sorting out of the issue of the disputed documents.

He argued that there was a need for an adjournment because the defence needed more documents from the prosecution to defend their case.

Justice Dada had granted the prayer of the defence and adjourned till yesterday for the commencement of the trial.

But appearing before the court on Tuesday, Banire informed the court that the prosecutor is yet to oblige them with the documents they requested at the last adjourned date.

He noted that the defence would need those documents to challenge the court’s jurisdiction to entertain the charges.

But the EFCC Counsel maintained that he had served the defence with the requested documents; he also showed the court the proof of service from his case file.

The judge, after looking through the court file, confirmed that the proof of service was not in the file; she, therefore, directed the prosecutor to file an affidavit of service.

She subsequently adjourned the matter to June 20 for trial.

The EFCC is also prosecuting Shasore, who served as the AG during the administration of former Governor Babatunde Fashola, before Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court in Lagos on a four-count charge of money laundering.

He had also pleaded not guilty to that charge.