A Chief Magistrate Court Zone 6, Abuja, on Monday adjourned further hearing on the matter between the Federal Government, the BGL Group and its officials, till January 25, 2018, following the absence of the company’s Managing Director, Albert Okumagba, just as he was not represented.
Presiding, Chief Magistrate Chinyere Elewe Nwecheonwu, therefore directed the defense team in the case CR/138/2017, to serve the notice on the prosecution before the next adjourned date to enable the court hear the notice of preliminary injunction.
However, Chibundu Edozie, BGL’s Deputy Managing Director, was granted bail in the sum of N1million with one surety in the like sum who should not be less than a Level 12 officer and resident in Abuja.
Okumagba and Edozie, who were docked along with three others accused of conspiring with some other staff of BGL to commit the offenses against the investing public.
Recall that the BGL Group and its officials were last month arraigned on charges of criminal conspiracy, Breach of Trust and cheating contrary to Sections 96, 312, 322 and 323 of the Penal Code Law, Chapter 89.
K.B Asunogie, counsel to Chibundu Edozie, drew the attention of the Magistrate to a pending application before another court challenging Edozie’s arraignment.
Asunogie told the court: “We are aware that there is a pending application challenging this arraignment. When an applicant is challenging a charge; his appearance on the dock is suspended until that preliminary objection is determined.
“I want to therefore ask that since that preliminary injunction subsists, the accused should be discharged from the dock”.
However, counsel to the Federal Government, Moshood Adeyemi told the court that he has not been served any notice of preliminary injunction, but also informed the court he was ready for an adjournment to enable the prosecution regularize its papers and produce Okumagba in court so as to get justice for all parties concerned.
There was a mild drama outside the court when counsel to the accused tried to prevent journalists from taking photographs of the accused person, threatening to sue anyone that publishes a photograph of the defense team or the accused.
In the end, some of the defense team formed a human barricade around the accused, while others blocked the lenses of one of the photojournalists
The SEC in exercising its responsibility as enshrined in the ISA, in tackling civil cases through its Administrative Proceedings Committee (APC) recently banned Okumagba and Edozie, from participating in capital market activities for 20 years, besides ordering BGL Group to refund over N2bn to investors, which includes Mahmoud Usman, Ann Awase Orsule, Sylvanus C. Ghasarah, Eno Efanga, UN Staff Thrift Credit Cooperative Society of Anambra State Abuja office and Adejoke Atte among others who filed complaints against them before the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The ban followed complaints by the investors against Okumagba and his company over failure, refusal and or/neglect to liquidate their investments in both the Guaranteed Consolidated dated notes and Guaranteed Premium Notes, among others.
A statement by the SEC recalled also that in a bid to obtain justice for the complainants and grant all parties fair hearing, it presented the matter before its Administrative Proceedings Committee (APC) which sat and decided on the matter.
“During the proceedings testimonies and documentary evidence were tendered by various parties and upon conclusion of the proceedings its APC arrived at a decision which has been approved by the relevant authority,” SEC stated.
The APC decided that by their actions and/or omissions BGL Securities Ltd, BGL Asset Management Ltd., Okumagba, Edozie and other respondents engaged in acts capable of adversely affecting investors’ confidence in the capital market.
It added that the APC decided that the registration of BGL Securities and BGL Assets Management be cancelled, while Okumagba and Edozien be banned from capital market operations for a period of 20 years.
It stated further that the two companies would also pay a fine of N25 million for breaching Rule 1(iii) of the Code of Conduct for capital market operators.
“Other than Okumagba and Edozie, Peter Adebola and Ashley Osuzoka have also been banned for five years and four years respectively,” it added.
The APC, apart from the ban placed on them and some monetary fines, directed the companies to refund N24.03 million to the National Open University Staff Cooperative Multipurpose Society.