Following the plea of the prosecuting team, the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Wednesday turned down the request by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for the arrest of a former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode.
Counsel to the EFCC, Mr Mohammed Abubakar, had urged the court to issue an arrest warrant against the ex-minister following his absence from Wednesday’s proceedings of his trial in the alleged diversion of N26 million he received from the then National Security Adviser (NSA), Col Mohammed Sambo Dasuki (rtd) in 2014.
The application by the anti-graft agency was opposed by counsel to the former minister, Mr Wale Balogun, who tendered a medical report dated November 24, 2020, advising Fani-Kayode to observe some bed rest.
The trial judge, Justice John Tsoho, who is also the chief judge of the Federal High Court rejected the application by the EFCC for the issuance of an arrest warrant against the former minister on the grounds that the medical report presented by his counsel showed that he had justifiable grounds to be absent from the trial on Wednesday.
The judge then adjourned the matter till February 23 and 24, 2021.
It would be recalled that the EFCC, on November 11, 2016, arraigned Fani-Kayode on a five-count charge.
He was alleged to have diverted the sum of N26 million which he allegedly received from the former NSA to pay for an unspecified contract.