The trial of singer Naira Marley at the Federal High Court in Lagos hit a pause as the court adjourned proceedings to May 30th.
The trial couldn’t proceed as scheduled due to a pending application for fiat awaiting approval from the Chief Judge of the court. Mrs. Bilikisu Buhari, the prosecutor, informed Justice Isaac Dipeolu of this development, indicating that the application, dated December 8, 2023, is still awaiting approval.
Naira Marley faces an 11-count charge of conspiracy and credit card fraud brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2019. The allegations span various dates between November 26, 2018, and May 10, 2019, with EFCC accusing Marley and his associates of defrauding victims using different bank cards.
The EFCC contends that Marley possessed counterfeit credit cards with the intent to fraudulently obtain financial gain, contravening Sections 1 23 (1) (b), 27 (1), and 33 (9) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition) Prevention Act, 2015.
Marley, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, was granted bail by Judge Nicholas Oweibo on May 20, 2019, in the sum of N2 million with two sureties in like sum. However, when Oweibo was transferred out of the Lagos division, the case was assigned to Justice Dipeolu.
During the trial before the new judge, Buhari represented the prosecution while V.C. Maduagwu stood as the defendant’s counsel. Both sides confirmed the status of the pending fiat application.
With the court’s awareness of the pending approval, the trial was adjourned to May 30th.
