The planned arraignment of former Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, on Tuesday, at the Federal High Court in Abuja, on N2.9billion corruption was stalled.
Okorocha was absent in court and was also not represented by any legal practitioner.
However, six other defendants billed to be arraigned along with him on 17-count corruption charges were in court, along with their lawyers.
When the matter was mentioned on Tuesday, counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Cosmos Ugwu told Justice Inyang Eden Ekwo that the former Imo State Governor had been evading service of the criminal charges on him as required by law.
He said that the retinue of security operatives surrounding the Senator had made it impossible for Okorocha to be served in person by court officials.
“My, Lord, the business of today is ordinarily for arraignment but it’s regrettable that all efforts on our part to serve the first defendant, Rochas Okorocha have proved abortive.
“The security around him has not been helpful and I wish to apply for an adjournment to enable us serve him and then, arraign him,” he said.
Justice Ekwo subsequently fixed March 28 to enable the agency serve him with the charge and to take his plea.
EFCC had in a 17-count charge it entered before the court, alleged that Okorocha and other defendants, conspired and diverted public funds into private accounts for their personal use.
According to the anti-graft agency, the defendants committed the alleged offence between October 2014 and February 2016.
It alleged that the defendants sequentially siphoned funds from the Imo State Government House account and Imo State Joint Local Government Project account, and diverted same into accounts of private firms.
It will be recalled that Okorocha who is currently the senator representing Imo West, had recently declared his intention to contest for presidency in the 2023 general elections.
