Court Issues Bench Warrant Against Yar’Adua’s Wife

Posted by admin Headlines Friday, June 17th, 2011

A Lagos High Court in Ikeja has issued a bench warrant against the wife of the late Major-General Musa Yar’Adua, Hajia Asabe Yar’Adua.
Hajia Yar’Adua had been charged to court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for alleged three count-offences involving financial malpractices.
The anti-graft agency had accused Yar’Adua of offences of issuance of dishonoured cheques, obtaining goods by false pretences.

Yesterday, Justice Bisi Akinlade issued the bench warrant when it became clear that Hajia Yar’Adua, who had been granted administrative bail by the EFCC, was absent in court for the second consecutive time, which made it impossible for her to be arraigned.

Justice Akinlade pronounced that “a bench warrant is hereby issued for the arrest of the defendant to be brought to court at the next adjourned date of September 15, 2011.”
Earlier, Yar’Adua’s lawyer, Mr Paul Ogedengbe, had told the court that the absence of his client was due to ill health and begged for an adjournment.
But Justice Akinlade was furious and reprimanded Ogedengbe: “You said the defendant was sick; where is the medical evidence?”

Also, the EFCC’s lawyer, Mr. Kayode Oni, noted that for avoiding the court, the defendant was abusing the administrative bail granted to her.
The judge did not spare the EFCC’s lawyer too as she reprimanded him for laxity.

“If you are really serious, you know the proper application to make in the circumstance. Nobody is above the law,” she said.

The judge’s statement implied that the EFCC’s lawyer should have been asking for a bench warrant against the defendant, which had to do suo motu (on her own discretion).
Asabe is charged with issuing a dud Spring Bank Plc cheque dated November 21, 2008 for the sum of N3.25 million to Union Bank of Nigeria knowingly and with intent to defraud as she knew she did not have that much in the account.

She is also said to have, sometime in November 2008, at a Berger Bust Stop Oshodi Apapa Expressway in Lagos, obtained a Hummer Jeep (H3) valued at N7.8 million from Stano-Twins Investment (Nig) Ltd on false representation that she had sufficient money in her account which representation, which she knew to be false.

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