Due to inability of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to effect service of the charge on the defendants’, the arraignment of Binance Holdings Limited and two of its executives; Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, on Thursday, could not proceed.
When the matter was called for the defendants to take their plea before Justice Emeka Nwite of Federal High Court, Abuja, only Gambaryan was represented by a lawyer.
It was observed that neither the company nor Anjarwalla, who recently escaped from lawful custody and fled the country, was represented by counsel.
However, Gambaryan’s lawyer, Chukwuka Ikwuazo, SAN, told the court that his client had not been served with the charge, hence, his arraignment cannot proceed.
FIRS lawyer, Moses Ideho, though acknowledged that the agency had not served Gambaryan’s with the charge, he said all efforts to do so proved abortive because the defendant could not be reached at the EFCC’s detention.
Ideho then prayed the court to serve Gambaryan in the open court and the judge, obliged, directing the charge be served on him in the dock.
The lawyer, therefore, sought a stand-down of the matter or an adjournment to enable Gambaryan consult with his lawyer.
Ikwuazo did not object to an oral application for adjournment and the matter was adjourned until April 19 for him to take his plea.
Join our WhatsApp community via https://goquick.ly/cj8q2 for instant and latest news updates.
