CRIME NEWS

N9m DUD CHEQUE: Court Issues Bench Warrant On Businessman

Olugbenga Soleye

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A Lagos Magistrate Court sitting in Igbosere has issued a bench warrant on the chief executive officer of LXG Ocean Global Services Ltd, Clement Enenche, for failing to appear before the court to face the three-count charge of fraud filed against him by the police.
Enenche and his company were arraigned for issuing two dud cheques of N9million each in a bid to partially offset a debt of N160million owed the complainant for petroleum products he purchased between September 2014 and March 2015.
When the case come up for hearing, the police prosecutor, DSP Raymond O. Akhaine, informed the court that he was surprised that the accused person was absent in court despite the fact that he was on bail and the case was coming up for the first time after his arraignment.
Akhaine therefore, applied for the revocation of the bail of the accused and for a bench warrant to be issued on him.
The lawyer to the accused person, who to oppose the application, informed the court that his client was rushed to the hospital earlier that morning and that speaking from the bar, he was yet to know the hospital that admitted his client.
Reacting to the development, the counsel to ORYX Oil Marketing Company Nigeria Ltd, Gbenga Ajala, who had sought and obtained the leave of court to speak, told the court that as lawyers “we must endeavour to speak the truth as ministers in the temple of justice no matter how beautiful we wish to perfect our client’s brief”.
Ajala went further to inform the court that shortly before the court sat, he overheard the lawyer to the accused informing the prosecutor that his client was not coming to court without any justifiable reason.
He also informed the court of the kind of individual the accused person is as well as his numerous pranks and tricks. Ajala therefore urged the court to deal with the case objectively.
In his ruling, Chief Magistrate Ola Shonuga ordered the issuance of a bench warrant on the accused person and told the lawyer to come with medical reports of his client on the next adjournment date, January 20, 2015.
In the charge Number D/37/2015, Eneche is accused of issuing a dud cheque, an offence punishable under Section 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2011

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