Job racketeering: Court may try prison official in absentia

An FCT High Court sitting in Abuja presided over by Justice Kutigi, has threatened to continue trial in the absence of one Ahmed Abdu, should he fail to show up for trial at the next adjourned date.

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) had earlier in May, 2015 arraigned the defendant Abdu, an inspector in the Prison Dog Unit of the Nigerian Prisons Service, Kuje, Abuja before the court over job racketeering.

Abdu was charged to court under Section 10 of the Corrupt Practices And Other Related Offences Act, for collecting the sum of N250,000 each from six unemployed youths promising them jobs either at Nigerian Immigration Service or the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps.

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He was alleged to have failed to fulfill his promise while the hopes of these youths were dashed after waiting for over a year.
The defendant and his counsel failed to show up for trial.

At the last adjourned date on December 2, 2015 when he failed to show up, the prosecuting counsel, Ngozi Onwuka urged the court to proceed with trial in the defendant’s absence.

However in his ruling, the trial judge, Justice Kutigi premising on Section 352 (4) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, said that trial would continue in the absence of the defendant, should he be absent two more adjournments from that day’s sitting.
He subsequently adjourned the matter to February 9,2016.

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