Court issues a production order against Naira Marley for alleged cyber fraud
A production warrant is a temporary order directing that an accused person or defendant be brought to court to answer to a charge.
Naira Marley is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on an 11 count charge bordering on conspiracy and credit card fraud.
At the resumed sitting today, counsel to the defendant, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, informed the court that the defendant was unavoidably absent owing to his being detained by the Police for interrogation in respect of the murder of Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba, also known as Mohbad.
Ojo, therefore, asked the court for an adjournment of the trial.
In her response, the prosecution’s attorney, Bilkisu Buhari, also requested that the defendant be served with a production warrant so that he would be present in court on the subsequent postponed date.
Both attorneys’ requests were approved, and Justice Oweibo issued a warrant for the defendant’s production.
The judge further postponed the case to October 30, 2023, so that the trial may continue.
Background
Naira Marley, the musician who performed the well-known song “Am I a Yahoo Boy” before the Federal High Court in Lagos, was charged with graft on May 20, 2019, according to the anti-graft agency.
To watch his arraignment on an 11-count allegation involving money laundering and Internet fraud, a sizable group of his fans showed up.
The offenses, according to the anti-graft agency, were committed on various days between November 26, 2018, and December 11, 2018, as well as on May 10, 2019.
According to the commission, Naira Marley and his companions planned to use various Access Bank ATM cards to swindle their victims.
The defendant allegedly owned and used fake credit cards bearing the names of various people with the goal to defraud others, according to the EFCC.
The provisions of Sections 1, 23, 1, and 33(9) of the Cyber Crime (Prohibition) Prevention Act, 2015 are allegedly violated by the accused offenses.
Naira Marley entered a not-guilty plea before Justice Nicholas Oweibo.
He was granted bail by the court in the amount of two million naira with two sureties in the same amount.