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Njogu Bah trial: defence to make no-case submission

Oct 23, 2014, 10:01 AM | Article By: Bakary Samateh

The director of public prosecutions, S.H. Barkun, Tuesday announced that the state has closed its case in the trial on a charge of ‘abuse of office’ involving Dr Njogu L. Bah, at the Banjul Magistrates’ Court before acting-principal Magistrate Dawda Jallow.

This was after the defence counsel, L.K. Mboge, said he has finished the cross-examination of Dawda Fadera, the permanent secretary at the Personnel Management Office (PMO), who was the fourth prosecution witness.

The DPP told the court he wanted to announce that the state has closed its case, and it was now left to the accused person and his counsel to open their case.

In response, defence counsel LK Mboge told the court that the defence wanted to file a no-case-to-answer submission on behalf of the accused person.

The defence would like to file a written no-case submission on or about 28October 2014 and DPP could reply within seven days, he said.

The case was subsequently adjourned to 4 November 2014.

Dr Njogu Bah was alleged to have, sometime in January 2013 at State House in Banjul, abused the authority of his office as Secretary General and Head of the Civil Service, by interfering with the recommendation and posting of Ms Jainaba Jobarteh to The Gambia’s permanent mission at the United Nations in New York, without following the proper procedure of nomination, and thereby committed an offence.