An Ogun State High Court sitting in Abeokuta on Friday, March 1, 2013 adjourned proceedings in a case involving a former governor of the State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel till April 22, 2013. The adjournment followed an application by Taiwo Osipitan, SAN, counsel to Daniel asking the court to stay proceedings pending the determination of an appeal filed at the Court of Appeal against Justice Olanrewaju Mabekoje’s refusal to quash counts 1-13 of the charges preferred against Daniel relating to fraudulent conversion of the state’s land for his personal use.
At the last court session on Friday, February 22, 2013, counsel to the defendant, Mr. Taiwo Osipitan had sought the permission of the court to quash counts 1-13 of the charges relating to fraudulent conversion of the state’s land for Daniel’s personal use. Justice Mabekoje ruled against the application, prompting Daniel to proceed to the Court of Appeal.
At the resumed hearing of the case on Friday, March 1, 2013, Osipitan referred the court to his application filed at the Court of Appeal and consequently asked for a stay of proceeding and an adjournment pending the Court of Appeal’s.
But a press release by Daniel’s media aide said EFCC, has lost its bid to proceed with the prosecution of the former Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, while an appeal against the judgement on a related matter is pending. The High Court sitting in Abeokuta where the trial of the former Governor is taking place decided on Friday March 1 that the EFCC would have to wait for the decision of the Appeal court sitting in Ibadan before proceeding with the case it instituted against Otunba Daniel. The Abeokuta High Court presided over by Justice Olanrewaju Mabekoje while ruling on an application brought on behalf of Daniel by his lead counsel Professor Taiwo Osipitan asking for an adjournment pending the determination of the suit filed by Daniel against the earlier judgement of Mabekoje which refused to quash counts 1 to 13 relating to the administration of land under his administration said it would not be in the interest of justice to proceed with the case while an appeal against its earlier decision on a related matter was pending .The defence team had approached the court to quash count 1 to 13 of the filed suit by the EFCC based on the fact that the Ogun State Government had through a panel instituted by Governor Ibikunle Amosun made a pronouncement on all the substance of counts 1 to 13.
Osipitan in asking for the adjournment said the court of Appeal had already set April 11 as hearing date saying any matter entertained when the appeal was pending would amount to an exercise in futility and would not allow for orderly conduct of proceedings. The EFCC through its lawyer Adebisi Adeniyi opposed the adjournment saying there was no order of any court directing the Abeokuta Court to stay proceedings on the matter.
However in his Judgement Justice Mabekoje agreed with Daniel’s counsel that when a matter was before the Court of Appeal, the lower court should wait for the decision of the appellate court before proceeding with the matter under contention.. He said the court should not take any step that will interfere with the proceedings of the court of appeal or present it with a fait accompli. He said Otunba Daniel had through his counsel showed good cause why the case should be put on hold until the determination of the appeal at the higher court. Mabekoje thereafter fixed April 22 as the tentative date for the commencement of the trial in Abeokuta subject to the final resolution of the proceedings of the Appeal Court.
