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Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, ordered the officials of the Kuje correctional facility to provide the detained Binance Holdings Limited executive, Tigran Gambaryan, with a wheelchair.
The order followed an outburst from Gambaryan shortly after the court adjourned. Justice Nwite had stepped out of the courtroom for a few minutes before returning to his seat.
Gambaryan, who was walking with crutches, abruptly stopped in front of Justice Nwite and lamented that his health had deteriorated since his remand at Kuje due to inadequate medical care.
He admitted to the judge that although he has been living with a herniated disc for the past twelve years, his condition has worsened due to the lack of proper medical attention at the facility.
Gambaryan also mentioned that he now has difficulty walking and would appreciate it if his counsel’s request for a wheelchair was taken seriously.
Justice Nwite questioned the prison official present about why Gambaryan had been denied a wheelchair and subsequently ordered that one be provided.
The officials complied, and Gambaryan was wheeled out of the courtroom.
Earlier, Gambaryan’s counsel, Mark Mordi, SAN, informed Justice Nwite that his client’s health was deteriorating. He explained that Gambaryan’s condition had worsened due to the negligence of prison officials and that Gambaryan could not walk without assistance. Mordi added that they had requested a wheelchair for Gambaryan, but the prison officials had refused to provide one.
Mordi explained that Gambaryan experienced excruciating pain while making his way into the courtroom using crutches and that a wheelchair would have alleviated such pain. He urged the judge to order the prison officials to provide a wheelchair.
He further added that a fresh bail application has been filed.
Mordi said, “My Lord, an application for bail was filed on August 28 regarding the second defendant’s health condition. My client’s health has continued to deteriorate. He can’t move without assistance and was crying as he made his way here this morning.”
Prosecution counsel Ekele Iheanacho, however, responded that he had filed a counter to that application.
He argued that the defendant was exaggerating his illness. He said the Office of the National Security Adviser had provided a copy of Gambaryan’s health record, which showed that his condition was not as serious as claimed.
Iheanacho added that he is at a loss as to why the prison officials had not presented the health record to the court.
He explained that Gambaryan had lived with his health condition for the past 12 years without it threatening his life but now complains about the severity of the illness.
Counsel for the first defendant, Tonye Krukrubo, SAN, on his part, told the court that the matter was for the continuation of trial when it was called upon.
He complained that the Central Bank of Nigeria officials, who were subpoenaed to bring documents that could be downloaded from their website, had not provided the complete set.
“There’s an issue I think we should raise with your Lordship. We requested documents from the CBN that should have been downloaded. My Lord remembers that we subpoenaed the CBN, and as of now, I am not aware that they have provided the documents.”
He was later handed some documents by the prosecution counsel, who said the officials were present earlier and handed them to him.
Krukrubor, however, complained that the documents were incomplete.
Iheanacho requested an adjournment to allow time to communicate with the CBN about the incomplete documents, suggesting that one or two days should be sufficient to resolve the issue.
In response to the fresh bail application filed by Mordi, Justice Nwite stated that he was hearing of it for the first time and thus could not address it at that moment.
He adjourned the case until September 4 to continue the trial.
Binance, its exchange British-Kenyan regional manager for Africa, Nadeem Anjarwalla, and Gambaryan are facing money laundering charges to the tune of $35 million brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Gambaryan and Anjarwalla were initially detained by the Office of the National Security Adviser.
However, Anjarwalla fled lawful custody on March 22, 2024, while Gambaryan was transferred from ONSA custody to EFCC custody and later to Kuje correctional facility, where he is currently being held.
