The trial of former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Usman Jibrin before an Abuja High Court has been adjourned to March 27 for the prosecution to furnish missing documents in the proof of evidence to the defense.
Justice Umar Sadiq adjourned the matter at the instance of Jibrin’s counsel, Yakubu Maikyau (SAN) who told the court that he could not continue with the cross examination of the first prosecution witness due to the non-availability of some documents.
The missing documents include the account statements of Petrus Ogwu Nigeria Limited with Zenith Bank, Ecobank and Fidelity Bank.
The court ordered that the documents as well others which might be relevant to the defense be made available before the next adjourned date.
Maikyau made the plea when the witness, Ala Shehu Mohammed told the court that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) requested for the accounts of Petrus Ogwu Limited with Diamond Bank, Zenith Bank, Ecobank and Fidelity Bank, which he said were provided for the commission.
The witness told the court that on 13/03/2014 there was a deposit of N600 million from Naval Engineering Services Limited to the account of Petrus Ogwu Nigeria Limited in respect of a property the company sold to Harbour Bay Int’l Limited (a company which has the wife of the ex-naval chief as its Managing Director).
The EFCC is trying Jibrin alongside Rear Admiral Bala Mshelia (rtd) and Rear Admiral Shehu Ahmadu (rtd) on a four-count charge bordering on criminal conspiracy for allegedly buying a house worth N600 million from the account of Naval Engineering Services without the said purchase contract being captured in the budget.
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