A prosecuting witness, Dein Whyte, an operative of the EFCC, continued giving evidence in the trial of Azeez Fashola, also known as Naira Marley, today, July 15, 2022, before Justice I. Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos. The court overruled the defendant’s objection to the forensic evidence the witness had previously presented.
NairaMarley is standing trial on an 11-count charge bordering on credit card fraud brought against him by the EFCC.
At the last sitting on June 9, 2022, the defense counsel, Olalekan Ojo SAN had objected to the witness’s opinion on the forensic evidence linking the defendant to credit card fraud. He had argued that only the court could make pronouncements on the defendant’s culpability, not an investigator.
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At the resumed trial today, Justice Oweibo delivered a short ruling in which he dismissed the defense’s objection.
“It is the duty of the law enforcement agency or Police, charging a person to court to investigate if the defendant committed the crime or not. The investigator must be able to link the defendant to the commission of the crime. The prosecutor must have made up his mind as to the involvement of the defendant before bringing the case to court. I do not agree that the prosecution has declared the defendant guilty”, the Judge ruled.