Absence of a defence lawyer at the Lagos High Court sitting at the Tafawa Balewa Square has stalled the ongoing trial of an undergraduate, Chidinma Ojukwu, who was accused of killing the Chief Executive Officer of Super TV, Usifo Ataga.
Gatekeepers News earlier reported that Ojukwu and her sister, Chioma Egbuchu, alongside one Adedapo Quadri, are facing nine counts bordering on murder, stealing and forgery, all of which are related to the killing of Ataga on June 15, 2021.
The trial was earlier stalled on May 12 when Egbuchu stopped using the services of the Office of the Public Defender and employed a lawyer to defend her.
Her new counsel, Ngozi Akandu, had requested for time to study the documents and the case.
At the court proceedings on Thursday, Ojukwu’s counsel, Onwuka Egwu, read a letter from Akandu to the court that he would be absent due to “sudden health indisposition.”
He appealed to the court for adjournment.
The prosecution counsel, Adenike Oluwakemi, on the other hand, raised no objection to the application.
Meanwhile, counsel for the other defendants asked the court to fix another date to continue the trial while vacating other trial dates already fixed.
Justice Yetunde Adesanya, thereafter, adjourned the case till July 7 to continue trial.
