Abdulsalam Zaura, a chieftain of the All progressives Congress, APC in Kano State, will face trial for the second time as a Court of Appeal sitting in the state, yesterday, ordered for a fresh trial over $1,320,000 fraud allegation.
The APC chieftain, who is popularly known by his supporters as A.A. Zaura was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2018 on a five-count charge before the federal high court sitting in Kano.
The anti-graft agency had accused Zaura of defrauding a Kuwaiti national by obtaining the sum of $1,320,000 under the pretext that he is in the business of building properties in Dubai, Kuwait and other Arab countries.
In June 2020, Lewis Allagoa, the presiding judge, found Zaura not guilty and discharged him on all counts.
Not satisfied with the judgment of the lower court, Musa Isah, counsel representing the EFCC, took the matter to the court of appeal in a bid to overturn the judgment of the lower court.
The EFCC told the court that Zaura was absent when the judgment was delivered in 2020, adding that based on several judgments of the Supreme Court, an accused person must always be present in court throughout his trial.