Trial of Azeez Fashola also known as Naira Marley continued on Friday before Justice I. Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos
The judge adjourned till May 13, 2020 for ruling on the admissibility of documents brought before the court in evidence against the defendant and for the continuation of the entertainer’s trial for his alleged involvement in credit card fraud.Naira Marley is standing trial on an 11-count charge of conspiracy and credit card fraud, preferred against him by the Commission.
At the resumed sitting on Friday, the prosecution through its second prosecution witness Augustine Anosike, an investigator and forensic expert with the EFCC, sought to tender in evidence a compact disc (CD) containing information, analysis and extractions from the defendant’s phone.
During his evidence at the previous sitting, Justice Anosike had told the court that the forensic analysis that was carried out on Naira Marley’s iPhone revealed some shocking evidence against him which were extracted and burned into a CD, alongside some documents that were printed out.
The Prosecution counsel, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo presented the documents before the court and urged the court to admit them in evidence.
The defence counsel, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, however opposed the admissibility of the documents on the grounds that the CD does not have the proper authentication required by law, and therefore improperly obtained, as contained in the Cyber Crime Prohibition and Prevention Act, 2015.
Ojo also argued that there may have been interferences while the documents were being produced at the forensic lab of the EFCC.
He finally submitted that the CD does not bear any name, title, department, but a signature which can’t be authenticated.
But Mr. Oyedepo in his response said that there was no contravention of Section 39 of Cyber Crime Prohibition and Prevention Act, 2015 as claimed by the defence counsel, as what was sought to be tendered is the forensic content of the defendant’s iPhone that was already admitted in evidence. He added that the extractions before the court are materially relevant to the charge.
Justice Oweibo adjourned the matter to May 13, 14 and 15 for ruling and continuation of trial.
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