Court orders trial in absentia for 3 ex-Brila FM staff over alleged N100m fraud

Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Lagos, has ordered the trial in absentia of three former employees of Brila Broadcasting Services Limited who are facing a ₦100 million fraud charge filed by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun.

The defendants – Akakan Victor Mkpong Sam, Blessing Sunday Ekerete, and Anthony Babafemi Raji were billed for arraignment yesterday, November 7, 2025, but failed to appear in court.

This was the second time they had failed to attend proceedings, having also been absent on October 23, 2025, when the case was earlier scheduled for arraignment.

At yesterday’s proceedings, the prosecution was represented by Clinton Olly, while O. Umor, Oluwaromiti Abraham, and Lateef Arigbabuwo appeared for the three defendants respectively.  The prosecutor informed the court that the defendants had been duly served with the charge.

Counsel for the defendants, however, told the court that their clients were unable to attend because they were ill.

They presented medical reports to support their claims, with the third defendant’s lawyers adding that his client had already travelled abroad for treatment before the police filed the charges. Justice Lewis-Allagoa expressed dissatisfaction with the explanation, questioning the coincidence of all three defendants being sick at the same time despite the pending criminal case against them. Consequently, the judge ordered that the matter proceed in their absence and adjourned the case to December 4, 2025, for arraignment in absentia. The court will continue the trial on December 4, 2025.