LACK OF LEGAL REPRESENTATION STALLS ARRAIGNMENT OF CHINESE NATIONAL IN ALLEGED CYBERCRIME CASE
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Due to a lack of legal representation, the arraignment of 34-year-old Liao Zhang and a company, Genting International Co. Limited, on charges ranging from identity theft to possession of documents containing false pretenses to cybercrimes and cyberterrorism was postponed Monday at the Federal High Court in Lagos.
Upon being questioned by Justice Olayinka Faji if he had a lawyer to represent him, Zhang replied that he did not.
When asked if he could get in touch with friends or family to help him find a lawyer, he replied that he couldn’t recall anyone and that he wasn’t carrying his phone.
Justice Faji also asked Zhang how long he had been in Nigeria, and the defendant replied that he had been in the country for six months and was residing in hotels.
When asked what he had been doing during his time in Nigeria, Zhang said he had been searching for a job throughout his stay.
He further explained that when he first arrived in Nigeria, he intended to start a business but had found himself in his current predicament instead.
“I have been looking for a job for the past six months in Nigeria. Initially, when I arrived in Nigeria, I wanted to start a business, but I found myself here,” Zhang said.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had accused Zhang of deliberately accessing a computer system with the intent to destabilise and destroy Nigeria’s economy and social structure.
According to the EFCC, Zhang’s actions contravened sections 18 and 27 of the Cybercrimes Prohibition and Prevention Act 2015, as well as section 2(3) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022.
The offence was allegedly committed in December 2024.
Justice Faji also asked the EFCC prosecutor, Temitope Banjo, to provide proof of service of the charge on the second defendant, the company Genting International Co. Limited.
The case was then adjourned to March 13, 2025, for the presentation of evidence of service for Genting International Co. Limited and the possible arraignment of Zhang.
In another case of a Chinese national, Zhang Hua Zhai, before the same court, the EFCC’s counsel, Bilkisu Buhari-Bala, asked the court not to grant the defendant bail, saying he was a flight risk.
Buhari informed the court that the case was for trial, and the EFCC was ready to proceed.
But the defence counsel, Olumide Olaiya, told the court that he had a motion for bail and that the defence had served the prosecution.
He said, “We urge the court to grant the defendant bail, he has a passport and credible surety”.
But the prosecutor, in her counter-response to the bail application, said the defendant was a flight risk.
She said, “We don’t have the passport of the defendant. He came in on a visiting visa, that’s what he said. He even escaped from his country.
“It is in our affidavit, and if the defendant is released, my lord, we won’t be able to find him.
” We humbly pray that the bail of the defendant be denied,” Buhari said.
After listening to the submissions of both the prosecution and defence counsel, Justice Faji adjourned the case till March 18, 2025, for the ruling on the motion for bail and commencement of trial.
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