The Federal High Court in Lagos has rescheduled the arraignment of Lebanese Hamza Koudeih and his accomplice Kayode Philip, alias Voice of the King, accused of money laundering. Mr Philip and Koudeih are facing 24 counts filed against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Their arraignment, which was initially scheduled for Monday, November 25, before Justice Muslim Hassan, couldn’t go on as Koudeih’s lawyer, Abdulamid Mohammed, said he was yet to see the charge sheet against his client. The lawyer, who is based in Abuja, said he was only told on Sunday that the matter would be coming up in Lagos on Monday and he had to rush down. He said on getting to court on Monday morning, his client told him that the EFCC served the charge sheet on him on Friday and he gave it to his wife who took it home.
Mr Mohammed prayed Justice Hassan to adjourn the case to enable him to study the charge sheet and prepare for his client’s defence, citing Section 36 of the constitution, which provided that an accused must be given adequate time and facility to prepare for his defence. The prosecuting counsel for the EFCC, Rotimi Oyedepo, opposed the prayer for an adjournment.
Following arguments between the lawyers, Justice Hassan, in a short ruling, said he would like to exercise caution and adjourn the case for Koudeih’s lawyer to study the 24 counts and the three volumes of proof of evidence filed by the EFCC against the defendant. He adjourned till Thursday, November 28 for arraignment.
