The anticipated arraignment of former Minister of Aviation, Senator Stella Adaeze Oduah, on N7.9 billion money laundering allegations halted for the sixth time on Tuesday before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Mrs Odua, who was present in court with her other eight co-defendants, was unable to be arraigned because the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, was unable to give a definitive go ahead with the arraignment.
During Tuesday's hearings, the Federal Government's counsel, Dr Hassan Liman, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, presented a letter from the Attorney General's office demanding that the accused persons be directed to enter their plea.
He reminded the court that the Federal Government has been charging them since December 17, 2020, despite repeated attempts to arraign them.
The AGF's letter of May 6, 2022, however, drew Liman's attention to a section that stated that his office was still looking into the points highlighted by one of the defendants in the case.
Justice Inyang Ekwo, who was to issue the order for the petition, insisted on giving the AGF time to formulate a firm position so that the effort would not be futile.
Other senior defense lawyers agreed with the court that the AGF should be granted more time to finish his actions on the case file and issue the required instruction.
Following that, Justice Ekwo scheduled the defendants' pleas and trial for October 12 and 13.
Senator Oduah's arraignment had been postponed five times due to her repeated absences from court.
On July 12, Justice Ekwo threatened to issue a warrant for her arrest if she did not appear for her arraignment on October 19, 2021, as scheduled.
Mrs Oduah is accused of misappropriating N7.9 billion in public monies while acting as a member of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Gloria Odita, Nwosu Emmanuel Nnamdi, Chukwuma Irene Chinyere, Tip Top Global Resources Limited, Crystal Television Limited, Sobora International Limited, and a foreign construction business are among the defendants.
They've been accused with conspiracy, money laundering, and keeping secret bank accounts.