Defence Counsels  Fume Over EFCC Prosecution Counsel Absence In Court  In A Case Of Alleged Diversion Of Funds Case By Etukudoh

Yakubu Busari

The trial of Dr. Sunday Etukudoh, the Provost of Federal School of Medical Laboratory Science Technology (FSMLST) could not continue on Tuesday due to the absence of Prosecution Counsel, Samuel Okeleke Esq.

Etukudoh is being prosecuted alongside four others by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) on alleged conspiracy and diversion of funds.

The trial was reassigned and commenced Denovo before Hon. Justice Christine Dapub after the retirement of Justice Danjuma Longji in December 2019.

The last adjournment was on July 16, 2021, due to absence in Court of the Defence Counsel, Solomon Umoh SAN as a result of Ill health.  However, the adjustment came against the wish of the Prosecution Counsel who vehemently opposed the application for adjournment stating the defence was deliberately frustrating hearing on the matter.

Prosecution Counsel further told the court that his reason for opposing the application was that the matter had lingered on for a long time owing to incessant adjournment at the instance of the defence.

It was for this reason that defence counsel expressed dismay over the inability of the matter to be heard on Tuesday owing to the absence of the Prosecution Counsel who only informed court officials and some counsel in the matter on why he wouldn’t be in court through text message just a few hours before court’s session which eventually turned out to be a similar reason advanced by the Defence in July.

The text message read in parts, “Good morning Counsel, I wish to inform you that I recently had surgery and would not be in court for FRN v. Dr. Erukudoh & Ors today. My colleague S.A Ugwuegbulem Esq who is billed to appear in the case is before the COA, Abuja for the hearing of a criminal appeal this morning and will be leaving for Jos immediately thereafter. We will therefore appreciate if the case is adjourned to tomorrow 8/12/21 so as to enable him to be in court”.

Conversely, defence Counsel took exception to the Prosecution Counsel’s choice of communication stressing that though the issue of ill health must always be taken with a high degree of consideration (since it is an act of Almighty God), however, posited that the case under referenced wasn’t impromptu to warrant the Prosecution Counsel to inform the court and other counsel in the matter of his predicament (which eventually necessitated adjournment) few hours to the commencement of the hearing.

Counsel for the 2nd Defendant, Sangei particularly felt disenchanted taking into cognizance that his client equally had major surgery last week and was still recuperating, but forced himself to come to court due to the attitude exhibited by the Prosecution Counsel before the last adjourned date in July. Speaking to journalists after the court session, Umar Sangei Esq, counsel for the 2nd defendant said the Prosecution Counsel only sent a text message to say that he has been operated upon but didn’t say when and in which hospital.

“We are human beings and such misfortune can happen to anybody. I always consider issue of ill health with a high degree of consideration because it is an act of God and can happen to anybody.  But as counsel, we must always do the needful. It is not a good practice to inform lawyers on the other side and court officials that you’re sick and won’t be able to come to court only in the morning of the day the matter was scheduled for the hearing. Such thing cannot happen in Jos Bar and a lawyer that is used to the practice in Jos Bar would not behave this way”, he said.

Dawang Esq, counsel for the 3rd Defendant in the matter equally faulted the way of communication by the Prosecution Counsel noting that with recent court pronouncements, such a decision ought to be put in writing and filed. Counsel also posited that the action of the Prosecution Counsel also raised eyebrows, curiosity, and suspicion taking into account that while he was not in court on account of ill health, none of the witnesses who were billed to testify before the court on trial within trial was equally in court.

Dayo Adedeji Esq Counsel for the 1st Defendant also faulted the timing of communication by the Prosecution Counsel. “The practice is that if counsel has a cogent reason for adjournment of a matter, it’s usually done in writing. One would have expected that the Prosecution Counsel would have written officially at least a few days to the day of hearing the matter informing the court of his predicament but he didn’t do this”, Counsel said.

The matter was further adjourned until March 2021 for the continuation of the hearing.

The trial of Dr. Etukudoh has since 2018 been described as persecution rather than Prosecution. Recall that since 2016, some staff of the Federal Medical Laboratory Science Technology raised the alarm that some people were intimidated by the unprecedented achievements of Dr. Etukudoh as Provost of the College and were hell-bent on going to whatever length to tarnish his reputation. Not too long when this alarm was raised than a petition by a unanimous Petitioner was sent to the EFCC against Dr. Etukudoh. The said staff were also appalled by the fact that the EFCC didn’t deem it fit to investigate the said petition, but went ahead to prosecute a man, which they believe has turned the fortune of the College and placed it on a global map as one of the most reputable Medical Laboratory Science College in Nigeria.

The staff also held tenaciously that the unfortunate decision was orchestrated by no other persons, but people who gained employment into the College with fake Certificates and were rattled when it was obvious that the Provost was hell-bent on sanitizing the system after discovering such Criminals existed in the system. A source who spoke to our man on condition of anonymity said that Dr. Etukudoh was mad when he discovered some people with certificates from Institutions that were not accredited to offer such courses in the College. “The position of the Provost has always been that in the worst-case scenario, it is better to have people with fake Certificates in a financial institution than to have such people in a medical Institution, more so in an Institution that is saddled with the responsibility of training personnel to detect the ailments of patients toward helping other medical practitioners (most especially medical Doctors) to prescribed proper medication for them.

 

To have people with fake Certificates in such Institutions is like keeping a time bomb in a community and by the time it explodes, the consequences would be grave”, said a staff of FSMLST.

Other staff also wondered how such people got employment in a Federal Government Institution such as FMLST Jos only to be creating confusion and causing distraction rather than making input that would be advanced the course of humanity.