More facts are now coming to light as to why the federal government withdrew the criminal charges preferred against the former minister of Niger Delta affairs, Elder Godson Orubebe.
Orubebe, who served in former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, was charged before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) for false declaration of assets.
According to sources, who spoke to Vanguard, the case against Orubebe was withdrawn following legal advice from the Federal Ministry of Justice.
The Justice Ministry was of the opinion that the case against Orubebe was faulty.
The Ministry’s advice stemmed from the fact that Orubebe wasn’t invited to give statement on the accusations brought against him before his arraignment, hence the case against him was fundamentally defective.|
The legal advice made reference to Section 379 sub-section (1) (a) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 which listed the information that must be filed by the prosecution before the beginning of trail as including: “copies of statements of the defendant”, proof of evidence, consisting of: the list of witnesses, the list of exhibits to be tendered, summary of statements of the witnesses, and copies of the statement of the defendant.
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