Naira Marley vs EFCC : What happened in court on Wednesday
A Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday, adjourned until Thursday, for continuation of trial of a musician, Azeez Fashola (a.k.a. Naira Marley), who is facing fraud and theft charges. NAN reports that the case was adjourned following a letter by defence counsel, Mr Olalejan Ojo (SAN), who was not available.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) preferred an 11-count charge against the musician. The charges bordered on conspiracy, possession of counterfeit credit cards and fraud. One Yad Isril, still at large, was charged alongside the musician. Fashola, who sang the popular song: “Am I a Yahoo Boy?”, was arraigned on May 20 before Justice Nicholas Oweibo, but he pleaded not guilty. The court granted him bail in the sum of N2 million with two sureties in like sum. According to the EFCC, he committed the offences on different dates between Nov. 26, 2018 and Dec.11, 2018, as well as May 10, 2019. The commission alleged that Fashola and his accomplices conspired to use different Access Bank ATM cards to defraud their victims. It alleged that the defendant used Access Bank credit card number 5264711020433662, issued to another person, in a bid to obtain fraudulent financial gains. The EFCC also said that he possessed counterfeit credit cards belonging to different people, with intent to defraud which amounted to theft. The alleged offences contravene the provisions of Sections 1 23 (1) (b), 27 (1) and 33(9) of Cyber Crime (Prohibition) Prevention Act, 2015.