The new charges against Oronsaye are in addition to the 24-count charge earlier preferred against him and two others for alleged fraud and money laundering offences involving N1.2billion.
The prosecution counsel, Adebisi Adeniyi, at the resumed trial yesterday, informed the presiding judge, Justice Gabriel Kolawole, that he had filed an amended charge.
He also sought an adjournment to serve the charge on three other defendants who have been included in the fresh charge, and with the filing of the amended charge, the initial 24-counts charge has jumped to 35-counts, while the number of defendants increased from three to six.
Adeniyi read the amended charge dated November 2, 2015, which now has the following defendants: Stephen Oronsaye (1st), Osarenkhoe Afe (2nd), Global Services Limited (3rd), Cluster Logistics Limited (4th), Kangolo Dynamic Cleaning Limited (5th) and Drew Investment and Construction Company Limited.
But opposing the process of filing the amended charge, Oronsaye’s lawyer, Mr. Kola Okeaya-Inneh (SAN), was of the view that the prosecution “cannot file an amended charge without a prior formal application to do so.
Ruling on the application, Justice Kolawole said the prosecution could bring an amended charge at the stage of the proceedings without the need to file any formal application for leave of court to do so.”
He, however, criticised the prosecution’s sudden realisation that it needed to file an amended charge when it was less than 24 hours to the date that had been fixed for the commencement of trial.
As a result, Justice Kolawole adjourned the matter till November 25, 2015, to enable the prosecution to serve the fresh charges on the new co-defendants for them to take their pleas.
Recall that the Oronsaye and the initial two accused persons all pleaded not guilty to the 24-count charge preferred against them when they appeared before Justice Kolawole in July 2015.
Shortly after their arraignment, Justice Kolawole released them to go home, pending the hearing of their bail application scheduled for July 21.
But the judge ordered that their release would be effective upon filing of a written undertaking by the defence counsel within 48 hours and an assurance to produce the accused persons in court at the next hearing date.
On the count charges preferred against the accused persons, they were said to have allegedly collaborated in defrauding the federal government to the tune of N118,992,201.6 under the guise of paying the money in tranches for the contract of biometric data capture project between March 2010 and December 2011.
The fraud was allegedly perpetrated through the award and payment for fake contracts to nine companies including, Innovative Solutions, Fredrick Hamilton Global Services, Xangee Technologies Limited, Fatideck Ventures, Obalando Nigeria Enterprises, Moshfad Enterprises and Fesbee Global Resources Limited.
Other companies through which the accused persons allegedly siphoned the money from the federal government included Jolance Integrated Concept Limited and M.OF Investment Limited.
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