Justice Nathaniel Ayo-Emmanuel of the Federal High Court, Ibadan, has adjourned till December 14 hearing on the plea bargain arrangement between a banker, Tope Akintade, and the EFCC in the case of alleged N8 billion CBN currency scam.

Mr. Akintade’s counsel, Femi Edema, at Tuesday’s hearing accused the anti-graft body of deliberately frustrating his client’s efforts on the plea bargain arrangement.

Mr. Edema told the court that the EFCC Head Office in Abuja had initially certified that all the necessary processes of the plea bargain concerning his client had been completed.

The counsel also lamented the worsening health condition of his client and prayed the court for a short hearing date.

But the prosecutor, Sola Obaribirin, submitted that the plea bargain processes were yet to be fully completed.

He, however, gave an assurance that all necessary steps would be taken for the plea bargain deal to be sealed before the next adjourned date.

The prosecutor further stated that the commission was determined to combine all the plea bargain processes and hearings at once instead of considering them in bits.

Justice Ayo-Emmanuel consequently adjourned the case, which was earlier slated for hearing, over the inability of Mr. Akintade and EFCC to conclude all processes involved in the plea bargain arrangement.

Meanwhile, the bail application filed by Adeola Olaniyan, the fifth accused person, was refused and struck out.

The court held that the reasons for the bail were not cogent and convincing enough.

R.M. Bature, the counsel to Olaniyan, had told the court that the health condition of his client was worsening.

The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that Patient Okoro, Johnson Afolabi, Ibrahim Ilori, Philip Togun, Kolawole Babalola and Fatai Yusuf, along with others, had been standing trial since 2015.

They are facing trial over multiple charges bordering on conspiracy, forgery, theft and recirculation of mutilated N8 billion currencies at the Ibadan branch of CBN.