THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Wednesday accused Innocent Chukwuma, the Chairman of Innoson Motors Nigeria Limited of evading being served court processes in stealing and fraud charges it brought against him before an Ikeja High Court.
Chukwuma, who failed to make an appearance at an Ikeja High Court where he was to be arraigned alongside his company Innoson Motors Limited and Charles Chukwuma.
Miss Zainab Ettu, counsel to EFCC, claimed that the Chukwuma and his co-defendants were evading service.
‘The most important thing is for us to proceed to trial, the defendants are on administrative bail.
“My Lord we will be asking for the shortest possible date since they are evading service so that we can serve them in the courtroom,” the EFCC prosecutor said.
However, Mr U. Onwukwe, the counsel to the defendants told the court that he only learnt of the proposed arraignment after seeing it on social media.
He also informed the court that he had filed an application challenging the jurisdiction of the court to hear the case.
“We have an application objecting to the jurisdiction of this court and it was filed on Jan. 15.
“My client has not been served, when this matter was filed the EFCC went to social media and it was through social media that we became aware and we have not been served.
“The EFCC arrested them and they know where they reside, they granted the second defendant (innocent Chukwuma) bail on self-recognisance and told him to come to EFCC office on Feb. 20, in December they went ahead to file these charges.
“Charles Chukwuma who is the third defendant in the charge was not even arrested by the EFCC,” Oneukwe said.
The presiding judge, Justice Mojisola Dada asked the EFCC to pass an advanced copy of the charge to Onwukwe as a form of service.
Onwukwe, however, objected by saying that he could not accept the advanced copy of the charge as a form of service to the defendants.
“Put the copy of the charge on the table if he refuses to accept it,” the judge ordered.
The defendants were to be arraigned on a four-count charge of conspiracy to obtain property by false pretences, obtaining property by false pretences, stealing and forgery.
According to the charge sheet, the defendants committed the offences between 2009 and July 2011 in Lagos.
The EFCC alleges that defendants with intent to defraud conspired to obtain by false pretences containers of a motorcycle, spare parts and raw materials property of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) from Mitsui OSK Lines Limited, Apapa, Lagos.
The defendants are alleged to have fraudulently induced staff of Mitsui OSK and Maersk Line to deliver to them via their clearing agents the goods which were imported from China in the name of GTB by falsely pretending that they were authorised by the bank to clear the goods.
The offences according to the EFCC, are in contravention of Sections 1(1)(b), 1(3), and 8(a) of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act 2016 and Sections 309(9), 388, 465 and 467(1)(j) of the Criminal Code of Lagos State 2003.
The Judge thereafter adjourned the case till Feb. 9 for possible arraignment.
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