Labinjo’s whereabout still unknown - as EFCC charges Wife, three others to court

By Dapo Olawuni |

The whereabout of Captain Niyi Labinjo, the National President of Nigerian Shipowners Association (NISA)is still subject of speculations, one year after he has disappeared from public space.

It was however being speculated that he was being held for an alleged economic offence by the Naval authorities alongside his wife and six others.

However, the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) has arraigned the wife of the embattled Capt Niyi Dada Labinjo; Mrs. Bola Labinjo, with service name as Lt.-Cdr S. A. Ibe Lambert, along side others before a Federal High Court in Lagos.

Curiously, Captain Labinjo was conspicuously missing among those charged, thus fuelling the concerns of his colleagues of his whereabout.

Meanwhile, the wife of the NISA President has been granted a N10million bail by a Federal High Court in Lagos.

She is standing trial alongside Jonathan Abuka, Ikemefuna Charles Agaba, Benjamin Gold and Hamzat Yakubu for alleged oil theft.

The defendants and a vessel, MT Hadeline Jumbo, are facing a two-count charge of conspiracy and unlawful dealing on petroleum product.

The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty before Justice Chuka Obiozor.

The EFCC alleged that the defendants, sometime in August 2018 at the Gulf of Guinea and off the Coast of Gabon, conspired to illegally deal on Nigeria’s automated gasoline oil.

The EFCC counsel, Mr. Stephen Odiase told the court that the defendants were arrested on August 13, 2018, by the men of Nigeria Navy on Gulf of Guinea along with the vessel loaded with the petroleum product, without appropriate license.

He told the court that the offences contravened Sections 3(6) and 1 (19) (a) and (b) the Miscellaneous Offence Act (Revised Edition), 2004.

The counsel noted that the offences were punishable under Sections 1(17) (b) of the same Act.

Counsel to the first to fifth defendants urged the court to admit them to bail in liberal terms since they had been in detention since August 2018.

However, the prosecution urged the court to deny the defendants bail on grounds that the alleged offences constituted economic sabotage which affected the country negatively.

In a ruling, Obiozor said he was inclined to grant the defendants’ applications due to the averments in their applications, most especially since they had been in detention since August, 2018.

Consequently, the judge admitted them to bail in the sum of N10 million each with one surety in like sum.

The judge also ordered that the surety must produce three years’ tax clearance certificate, means of livelihood, bank statement of accounts, title of landed property and two of passport photographs.

He said all the bail conditions were to be verified by the court’s deputy chief registrar.

However, Mr P. Amara, counsel to the sixth defendant (vessel) asked the court for adjournment to enable him to file its application, arguing that he had just been given the charge sheet.

The court adjourned the case until Aug. 8, for hearing of the application.