The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has filed a second amended 36-count charge against Adeniyi Adeyemi, alleged director-general of a purported agency, the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), and four others before the FCT High Court, Maitama, Abuja.
The amended charge, which expands the previous 22-count charge, brings the total number of defendants to five and further delays their arraignment following the absence of one of the accused persons.
At the resumed hearing on Monday, prosecution counsel, Sylvanus Tahir, SAN, informed the court that the commission had expanded the earlier charge from 22 to 36 counts and introduced four additional defendants. 
The new defendants are Aminu Abdullahi, Ogaba Harry, Florence Omameh and Patricia Akhigbe.
The development stalled Adeyemi’s bail proceedings, which were expected to come up on Monday following his arraignment on October 29.
However, the defendants could not take their pleas because Omameh, listed as the fourth defendant, was absent from court.
Tahir told the court that the prosecution had been informed that Omameh was facing a health challenge and had been admitted to a hospital in Abuja.
He said she had nevertheless been served with the amended charge and proof of evidence.
According to him, her absence had prevented the prosecution from proceeding with the arraignment, as the matter had now become a joint trial involving five defendants.
“Her unavailability in court has handicapped and constrained the prosecution from proceeding with the arraignment, this being a criminal charge,” he said.
Relying on Section 266 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), Tahir argued that an accused person was required to be present in court throughout the trial, subject to the exceptions provided by the law.
He consequently urged the court to grant a short adjournment to enable the absent defendant to recover and appear for arraignment.
Counsel to Adeyemi, Ibrahim Angulu, SAN, did not oppose the amended charge or the application for adjournment.
He, however, drew the court’s attention to his client’s prolonged detention.
Justice Yusuf Halilu subsequently adjourned the matter until November 18 for the arraignment of the five defendants.
The judge ordered that Adeyemi be returned to the Kuje Correctional Centre, while the other defendants were directed to return to the ICPC detention facility.
