Judge
Anthony Pitts of the Southwark Crown Court, UK, yesterday, adjourned the
confiscation hearing of Chief James Ibori, former Delta State Governor, till
June 6 next year.
Judge Pitts granted the adjournment to allow him time attend
to a case of attempt to pervert the course of justice brought against Ibori’s
co-defendant, Mr. Bradresh Gohil.
Gohil’s counsel alleged in court, at the hearing yesterday,
that a British Police Officer, Mcdonald, who is a lead investigating officer in
the case involving Gohil and Ibori, had been involved in collecting money for
information involving Gohil and Risk Management company.
While pressing home his demand, Gohil’s counsel said: “There
are new evidence indicating that DC Macdonald exchanged 22 telephone calls,
which have been traced with Risk Management at key stages of the investigation
of Ibori.
“They coincided with unexplained payment into DC Macdonald’s
account.”
Judge Pitts, while granting the request of Gohil’s counsel
in the trial, said: “Justice must not only be done, but must be seen to have
been done.”
This is a second abrupt ending in the Ibori confiscation
case.
The first ended last year, after it abruptly ended James
Ibori’s confiscation hearing late last year on the grounds that the judge
lacked enough evidence to arrive at a decision in the confiscation hearing.
Asking that the case be adjourned again on two grounds, Mr.
Gohil’s counsel, Kamlish, a Queen’s Counsel, said: “Your Honour, I seek to have
this case adjourned on two grounds:
“Gohil is not being represented at the hearing as the former
counsel and solicitor have withdrawn and the second ground being that it will
be improper to have a confiscation hearing before Mr. Gohil’s trial.”
The judge, in accepting his request, adjourned Mr. Gohil’s
trial till January 16, 2016.
This adjournment of Gohil’s trial affected Ibori’s
confiscation hearing as the prosecution sought an application to join Ibori’s
and Gohil’s cases together.
Ibori’s case should have lasted for just six weeks, but will
now be linked to Gohil’s case, which will begin January next year.
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