Azeez Fashola, better known by his stage name Naira Marley, is a prominent Nigerian musician. His highly publicized criminal prosecution encountered a roadblock on Wednesday when the case was adjudicated by a Federal High Court in Lagos.
The case was effectively put on hold while a pending application for fiat was awaiting clearance by the Chief Judge of the court.
The trial judge, Justice Isaac Dipeolu, was notified by the prosecutor, Mrs. Bilikisu Buhari, of the application that was submitted on December 8, 2023, asking permission for the former judge to continue presiding over the defendant’s trial.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has charged Naira Marley with cybercrime. The allegations are connected to activities that are allegedly related to his actions between November 26, 2018, and December 11, 2018, as well as May 10, 2019.
The Cyber Crime (Prohibition) Prevention Act, 2015’s Sections 1 23 (1) (b), 27 (1), and 33 (9) are among the prohibitions that the EFCC claims Fashola and his alleged accomplices conspired to violate by using several Access Bank ATM cards to defraud their victims.
The lawsuit faced a roadblock when Justice Nicholas Oweibo was moved out of the Lagos division of the court, even though the legal proceedings had begun in May 2019 and the judge had granted Naira Marley bail in the amount of N2 million.
The trial has been rescheduled for May 30 in order to await additional developments surrounding the application for fiat, with Justice Dipeolu now overseeing the proceedings. Both the defense and prosecution teams, represented by Mr. V.C. Maduagwu and Mrs. Buhari, respectively, checked the status of the application that was still pending before the court.
Naira Marley’s future is in jeopardy while the legal drama plays out, and both fans and the entertainment industry are closely following the happenings in this well-known case.
