A mild drama played out during Monday’s trial of a leading Jos, Plateau State clergy, Bishop Jonas Katung of the Maranatha Covenant Church, when his counsel announced that he was disengaged by his client on allegations that his incompetency caused him to spend two nights in prison.

Bishop Katung and one Okewale Dayo, chairman and secretary, respectively of Covenant Fadama Cooperative Society as well as the bank’s chief, Mamman Irimia Jatau are standing trial at the Federal High Court in Jos over alleged offences including advanced fee fraud and money laundering as well as swindling depositors of their investment.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which is prosecuting the three, is accusing them of conniving to swindle depositors of hundreds of millions of Naira in 2012.

All three have long pleaded not guilty to the 24-count charge.

At the resumed trial, when the three accused returned to the dock, Charles Obishai, the counsel representing them filed a motion, announcing he was withdrawing his legal representation for Katung, who is the second accused, on grounds that the bishop accused him of incompetency in handling his case.

He notified Justice Musa Kurya, presiding, that Katung had formerly written him and copied the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), alleging that his (counsel’s) incompetence and inappropriate representation was responsible for the two nights the accused spent in prison remand back in December of 2015 when he was arraigned in court by the EFCC.

Obishai, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), therefore moved the motion to disengage, but not without expressing displeasure with the bishop’s letter which he called a threat to his professional career. He vowed to challenge that in a motion to seek redress.

Also, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dadin-Kowa Micro-Finance Bank based in Jos, who has been in prison remand for over a month now because of inability to meet the bail conditions, got reprieve when the judge granted an appeal by his counsel, Obishai, for variation.

The judge had previously granted him bail in the sum of N5 billion, and two sureties, who must be Permanent Secretaries in the service of Plateau State Government. The sureties, according to the bail condition, must surrender their international passports and show evidence of landed property to the court among other conditions.

But Monday’s review of the bail condition reduced it to N120 million and a surety in like sum who is a civil servant in the state and on grade level 14. The judge also said that the defendant should submit his international passport.

He adjourned the case for the May 5 to rule on the motion of change of counsel for Bishop Katung.

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Bishop Jonas Katung blames lawyer’s incompetence for prison ordeal