Court adjourns fraud suit against BGL group, its officials

A Wuse Zone 6 Chief Magistrate’s Court has adjourned a case of alleged fraud against BGL group and its officials to January 25, 2018, for further hearing.
The accused, M/S BGL plc, its Asset Management and Securities Limited subsidiaries, and officials were on September 28 arraigned by the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, for conspiring to defraud the investing public.
The accused, including Chibundu Edozie, Deputy Managing Director of BGL, were docked on charges of criminal conspiracy, breach of trust and cheating.
Chief Magistrate Chinyere Nwecheonwu adjourned the matter following a plea by K. B. Asunogie, counsel to the accused, that the matter was pending in another court concerning one of the accused persons.
The counsel had notified the court of a pending application before another court challenging Mr. Edozie’s arraignment.
According to Mr. Asunogie, when an applicant is challenging a charge, his appearance on the dock is suspended until that preliminary objection is determined.
He, therefore, asked that since there was a preliminary objection, the accused should be discharged from the dock.
However, the prosecuting counsel, Moshood Adeyemi, claimed ignorance of any preliminary objection as none had been served to him.
Mr. Adeyemi, however, prayed the court for an adjournment to enable him to regularise his papers and produce Albert Okumagba, Managing Director, BGL, who was declared at large, to face justice with others.
The Magistrate said: “Since the defendants are yet to serve the prosecution, I adjourn to January 25, 2018 for hearing on notice of preliminary objection.”(NAN)