Kano governorship aspirant, A. A. Zaura, in trouble as Court of Appeal orders his retrial over fraud
Flamboyant Kano State governorship aspirant, Abdulsalam Abdulkarim Zaura (A. A. Zaura) would have to undergo another court trial over allegations of fraud, after he was thought to have put the trial ordeal behind him.
The Court of Appeal sitting in Kano on Wednesday sets aside the judgment of a Federal High Court in Kano that discharged and acquitted him earlier.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had earlier prosecuted Zaura on a five-count charge before the Federal High Court sitting in Kano.
EFCC accused Zaura of defrauding a Kuwaiti national by obtaining the sum of $1,320,000 (One Million Three Hundred and Twenty Thousand Dollars) under the pretext that he is in the business of building properties in Dubai, Kuwait and other Arab countries.
On the 9th June 2020, Justice Lewis Allagoa found the defendant not guilty and discharged him on all counts.
EFCC appealed the judgement of the Federal High Court,and the appeal has led to the setting aside of the earlier judgement.
In a unanimous decision by a three-man panel of judges of the Court of Appeal delivered by Justice Abdullahi M. Bayero, the judgment of the Federal High Court was set aside, and an order was given for Zaura to be tried afresh by a different judge other than Justice Allagoa.
The Court of Appeal considered that the accused person was absent when the judgment of the Federal High Court was delivered, contrary to the position of the Supreme Court in a number of cases that a defendant in a criminal matter must always be present in court throughout his trial, including judgment.
“Having determined the issue in favor of the appellant, the appeal naturally succeeds. The judgment of the lower court in suit number FHCK/CR2018/ FRN against Abdulsalam Sale Abdulkarim delivered on June 9th, 2020 is hereby set aside.”
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