By Abdallah  El-kurebe
Sokoto — The lingering case between the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and former Governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Attahiru Dalhatu Bafarawa and nine others, was  yesterday, adjourned sine die, until judgment being reserved on an appeal filed before the Court of Appeal is delivered.

The case, which is before Justice Bello Abbas of the Sokoto State High Court came upMonday after being adjourned on February 8, to enable lead defense counsel to Bafarawa, Rickey Tarfa (SAN),  to respond to an application for severance.

At the resumed sitting, EFCC counsel, Adeniyi Akintola(SAN), maintained that since the case had suffered several adjournments at the instance of a single accused person, whose appeal was still pending at the Court of Appeal, the trial court should rely on the powers conferred on it by Section 272 (i) of the 1999 Constitution and severe the case, and continue with the trial of the remaining accused persons.

He explained that in a matter where there were many accused persons, the whole case should not suffer adjournments at the instance of one accused person.

Tarfa, however, insisted that it was only proper that since the appeal filed by one of the accused person, Chief Mike Umeh, “is still before the Sokoto Court of Appeal, and for which judgement is reserved, the trial court stays trial until judgement at the Appeal Court is delivered.”

According to him, the case was jointly filed to include the appellant, Muke Umeh and therefore must be tried jointly,  after the determination of the appeal at the Court of Appeal.

After the arguments from both sides, the trial judge, Justice Bello Abbas, stood down the case for two hours after which he ruled on the stay of prosecution.

The trial judge observed that the case had suffered several adjournments in order to allow those at large to present themselves for trial and several other adjournments to allow for interlocutory injunctions from the Appeal Court.

Abbas also observed that the Appeal at the Court of Appeal only concerns one of the accuse persons, Mike Umeh but ruled that “…Even without an order by the Appeal Court to this Court, it would be out of respect for the Appellate Court for us to stay proceedings until the reserved judgement is delivered.”

He therefore stayed proceedings on the matter and adjourned the case sine die.