The prosecution and the defence counsel have agreed on next Friday for the argument of the motion on jurisdiction.
Justice Umar asked the defence to ensure that he served all motions and processes on the prosecution counsel to avoid further delay of the trial.
He therefore adjourned the case to Friday, 18 March, 2016 for moving of the motion and possible hearing of the substantive matter. The Senate President sat in the dock as the lawyers exchanged arguments.
The lead lawyer to Senate President Bukola Saraki, Kanu Agabi stonewalled the trial of his client today, announcing that he had filed a motion since Monday which the tribunal must rule upon before the trial could proceed.
The motion challenges the jurisdiction of the tribunal.
Rotimi Jacobs, the prosecution counsel said he was ready for the trial and that his witnesses are in court.
But Agabi said the tribunal could not proceed without a ruling on the motion which he said was filed on Monday.
According to him, the motion has been served on the Ministry of Justice. “Your Lordship must rule on the motion no matter how frivolous it is,” Agabi told Mr Danladi Umar.
Jacobs called attention of the court to the ruling of the Supreme Court that the trial must go on.
Jacobs said he has not been served any motion until now though the defence counsel knows that he is the prosecutor in the case.
He recalled that the defence counsel had served him a letter asking for adjournment, but failed to serve him the motion challenging.
As such, Jacobs said he must enquire from the Ministry of Justice if indeed a motion has been served.
He argued that the business of the day is trial. “This is a deliberate attempt to frustrate the case, so that the trial will not go on,” said Jacobs.
“The business of the day is the trial,” Jacobs said.
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