The Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned until October 5 the trial of five men accused of concealing the whereabouts of former Bayelsa State Governor and ex-Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva.
The matter, which was scheduled for the commencement of trial before Justice Peter Lifu on Wednesday, could not proceed as the court did not sit.
The case was subsequently adjourned until after the court’s vacation.
The five defendants — Reuben Ayuba, Musa Mohammed, Friday Paul, Paganengigha Anagaha and Ayebaifie Suobite — were arraigned on July 1 by the Department of State Services on a two-count charge bordering on allegedly concealing Sylva’s whereabouts.
They pleaded not guilty to the charges, following which the court granted them bail of five million naira each, with two sureties each required to be residents of Abuja and provide tax clearance certificates.
The prosecution had requested a trial date to enable it present its case against the defendants, who are accused of becoming accessories after the fact of an alleged felony by hiding the whereabouts of Sylva, who has been declared at large.
The charges were filed under Sections 519 and 516 of the Criminal Code Act, relating to concealing a fugitive and conspiracy to commit a felony.
Meanwhile, Sylva is facing a separate legal matter before another Federal High Court in Abuja over an alleged plot to overthrow President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Although he is not listed as a defendant in that case, he has been named as being at large.
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