By Abdulwahab  Abdulah & Jane Echewedo

Lagos—Former Managing Director of Finbank Plc, Mr Okey Nwosu yesterday told an Ikeja high court that his inability to assess some vital documents was delaying his defence in the alleged N10.9 billion theft case preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

At the resumed hearing of the case before Justice Lateefa Okunnu of an Ikeja High Court, Nwosu disclosed  that the situation is making bringing his witnesses to court difficult as majority of them have since left the bank.

Nwosu alongside Dayo Famoroti, Agnes Ebubedike and Danjuma Ocholi, all former directors of the bank, are being prosecuted by EFCC on a 26-count amended charge of stealing.

They were first arraigned before the court in 2010 while their trial progressed until December 2011 following an application challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the charges preferred against them by the EFCC.

Speaking through his lawyer, Mr N.K. Oragwu,  Nwosu and co-defendants who were to open their defence, told the court that he had filed a subpoena to summon a witness but when he brought it to court for endorsement , the court registrars declined his request on the basis that it was too late as the case was fixed for yesterday.

The prosecutor, Mr. Adebisi Adeniyi, however opposed the prayer for an adjournment, describing it as another ploy to further frustrate the expeditious trial of the case contrary to the directive of the Supreme Court.

After hearing the submission of parties, Justice Okunnu noted that though the defendants had enough time to have applied for witness summons but failed to do so.

She then vacated the three days already agreed to for trial this week and adjourned the matter till February 14, 15 and 16; March 29 and 30; and April 3, 5, 7, 10, 11 and 13, 2017 for the defendants to open their defence.