Drama as fraud suspect slumps in court

There was confusion at a Chief Magistrate’s Court in Sabo, Lagos on Tuesday after a 48-year-old suspect standing trial for fraud, Mrs. Pearl Nwashali, slumped moments after she was called into the dock.

It took the intervention of the registrar, warders and some people in the court to avert what seemed like an unfolding tragedy. She was later taken out of the dock to a seat.

The incident prompted her defense counsel, Mrs. A.U Onyeagura, to ask the court for an adjournment.

However, the magistrate, Mrs. Folarin William, stood down the case.

When it was recalled some minutes later, both the defendant and her counsel were no longer in court.

William described the incident as “a drama intended to deceive the court and pervert the course of justice.”

She observed that the defendant had been coming up with different excuses and tricks since the matter started in April 2012 to avoid paying the claimants their money.

She said, “I still very much believe that the defendant and her counsel are deceiving the court. The court also believes that the defendant is not prepared to settle the claimants but deceiving the court with the concurrence of her counsel.

“The court wonders if the money was ready, and whether the defendant would have paid the complainants today as she had promised since April, 30, 2013 if she had not fainted.

“Now that the case is recalled, there is no defendant in court and no counsel for her.”

Nwashali had been arraigned since 2012 on four counts of fraud and stealing.

She allegedly defrauded two women, Philomena Eguenu and Osinowo Oluwatoyin of N1m after calling the duo to Victoria Island, Lagos to inspect and buy a shipload of oil product.

She was also said to have issued a dud GT Bank cheque worth N500,000 to another person, Adegboyega Kolade.

Nwashalishi, through her defence counsel, Mrs. A.U Onyeagura, had promised to settle the complainants and at a time, said cheques had been written.

But on April 30, 2013, she was reported to be critically sick and on another adjourned date, her lawyer said she had lost four to five relatives within the space of four months.

The matter had come up for hearing ten different times without any money paid to the claimants.

The case was further adjourned till July 30 after Nwashali fainted in court.


-- Punch