Court grants Fayose permission to travel abroad, as EFCC re-arraigns him

Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose has secured the permission of the Federal High Court in Lagos to embark on a medical trip abroad.

The court ordered the temporal release of his passport on Tuesday to enable him to embark on a foreign medical trip.

Justice C.J Aneke made the order after Fayose was re-arraigned before him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

Justice Aneke made the order following an application by Fayose’s lawyer, Mr Ola Olanipekun (SAN).

Fayose is facing trial over an alleged N2.2 billion fraud.

“I hereby grant the defendant’s application for a temporary release of his passport to enable him to undertake a medical trip abroad.

“The defendant shall return the passport to the court on or before the 16th of September, 2019,” the judge held.

Fayose was arraigned afresh following the withdrawal of the case from Justice Mojisola Olatoregun before whom Fayose and a firm, Spotless Limited, were first arraigned on October 22, 2018.

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The case was reassigned to Chief Aneke following an application by the EFCC to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Adamu Abdu-Kafarati, for the case to be transferred to another judge following an altercation between Justice Olatoregun and counsel to the EFCC, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN.

At the resumed proceedings on Tuesday, the 11 counts, bordering on criminal breach of trust, theft and money laundering, were read to Fayose and Spotless Limited again. They pleaded not guilty as before.

Justice Aneke permitted Fayose to continue on the bail granted him earlier by Justice Olatoregun and adjourned till September 16, 2019 for the case to start afresh.

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