According to
Vanguard, 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withdrawn and the second ground being that it will be improper to have a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.
Vanguard
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