The trial of Abidemi Rufai, Ogun Governor Dapo Abiodun’s aide on special duties, has been adjourned following Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)’s uncovering of over 100,000 pages of evidence involving Mr Rufai in tax and disaster fraud.
This is contained in court documents from the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington seen by Peoples Gazette.
“The trial date presently scheduled for February 1, 2022, is continued to May 31, 2022, at 9:00 a.m. The pretrial conference is rescheduled for May 23, 2022, at 2:00 p.m., and the pretrial motions cutoff date is April 8, 2022,” the document said.
It added, “The period of delay resulting from this continuance from the current trial date of February 1, 2022 to the new trial date of May 31, 2022, is hereby excluded for speedy trial purposes under 18 USC § 3161(h)(8)(A) and (B) for purposes of computing the time limitations imposed by the Speedy Trial Act, 18 USC § 3161-3174.”
The document, filed and dated January 11, revealed that Mr Rufai was made aware of this motion, had no objection to it, and will be filing the waiver for a speedy trial. This is despite the initial pretrial conference set for January 24 and the trial date for February 1, 2022.
The court documents described the investigation in Mr Rufai’s case as “voluminous and complex.”
“The government had produced over 100,000 pages of discovery material. The discovery includes…
