No fewer than 15 witnesses will be call d by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to prove the N4bn theft charges it filed against a former governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano.
Former Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano, was arraigned on nine counts of N4 billion theft charges by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
According to The PUNCH, the prosecuting counsel for the EFCC, Slyvanus Tahir (SAN), made this known during the arraignment before Justice Inyang Ekwo at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Obiano pleaded not guilty to the charges, and Tahir assured the court that the EFCC was fully prepared to prosecute the case.
He stated that they had 15 witnesses who possessed documentary evidence against the defendant and were present in court.
“My Lord, we are ready for the commencement of the trial in this matter. We have 15 witnesses with documentary evidence against the defendant that are within the court’s jurisdiction.But we urge you to give a remand order,” Tahir said.
In response, Justice Ekwo ordered the EFCC to deposit Obiano’s travel documents with the court registrar.
He also instructed the registrar to notify the Nigerian Immigration Service about this development and verify the addresses of the land documents provided by the two civil service directors who stood as sureties for Obiano.
“The registrar must notify the Nigerian Immigration Service of the development and should verify the address of the land documents of the two directors in the civil service who are his sureties,’’ he added.
The trial is set to commence, and the EFCC is determined to present its case against Obiano, alleging his involvement in the misappropriation of N4 billion.
