BY ONOZURE DANIA AND MICHAEL OLADEPO

LAGOS—An Ikeja  High Court, yesterday  rejected an attempt by  a prosecution witness, Hamada Bello to make a graphic  presentation  to support his oral testimony on the on-going trial of the former Managing Director of Bank PHB, now Keystone Bank, Francis Atuche, his wife,  Elizabeth and  the former Chief Financial Officer in the bank, Ugo Anyanwu over allegations of stealing.

The trial judge, Justice Lateefa Okunnu in her ruling, agreed with the defence counsel, Chief Anthony Idigbe, SAN,  and Sylva Oguemoh, counsel to Ugo Anyanwu, the third defendant that the memory stick, which contains document  being sought for tender as exhibit by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC,  did not comply with the provisions of section 84 of the Evidence Act.

Justice Okunnu, who took a short stand down to deliver the ruling after taking arguments from the parties, stated that for the memory stick to be admissible within the contemplation of section 84 of  the Evidence Act, it must be certified.

She therefore sustained the objection of the defence on the ground that the device  did  not stand on itself as a primary document in prosecution.