The trail of the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Edo governorship election, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, in a N700m fraud case levelled against him and four others was stalled on Tuesday over his alleged ill health.
At the hearing of the case on Tuesday, Counsel to the 1st defendant (Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu), Charles Edosomwan, SAN, told the Justice Muhammed Garba Umar that his client, Ize-Iyamu could not make it to the court as he was currently indisposed.
He prayed the Judge to allow him present the certificate of his ill health as certified by his medical doctor to the court.
Ize-Iyamu alongside other defendants (former state chairman of the PDP, Chief Dan Orbih; incumbent chairman of the party, Dr. Tony Aziegbemi, a former deputy governor of the state, Lucky Imasuen, and Efe Anthony), were supposed to appear before Justice M.G. Umar of the Federal High Court, over charges bordering on a N700 million money laundering case filed against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In suit No. FHC/BE21C/ 2016, the anti-graft agency had filed eight-count charge against the accused persons, alleging illegal receipt of public funds to the tune of N700 million for the purpose of the 2015 general election.
EFCC further accused the defendants of conspiring among themselves to commit the offence in March, 2015, alleging that they took possession and control of the funds without any contract award.
The Court had during its last sitting on Thursday, June 18, 2020, validated the corruption charges against the defendants abs adjourned the case to July 7, 2020 for further hearing.
After listening to the Counsel to Ize-Iyamu, Justice Garba adjourned the case to July 14, 2020 for hearing.
