The scheduled arraignment of Dr. Daphne Dafinone, a board member of the Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), was stalled on Thursday at the Federal High Court in Lagos due to her absence.
Dr. Dafinone, alongside her company, CEDDI Corporation Limited, is facing charges related to an alleged ₦100 million fraud, as stated in case number FHC/C/661C/24.
During the court proceedings, Dr. Dafinone’s counsel, Dapo Akinosun (SAN), informed Justice Ibrahim Kala that his client was receiving medical treatment in London. Akinosun disclosed that he had advised Dr. Dafinone to ensure her presence in court, but she provided documentation confirming her hospitalization abroad.
The defence presented a letter from her doctor, alongside a photocopy of her passport and travel stamps, as proof of her location. Akinosun assured the court that Dr. Dafinone would return to Nigeria by January 28, 2025, and requested an adjournment for her arraignment.
The prosecution, led by Barrister Anthony Iyeye, a Superintendent of Police, did not object to the request.
Justice Kala subsequently adjourned the case to March 4, 2025, for arraignment.
The charges stem from a petition filed by Prince Lukman Adeleke, a property developer, accusing Dr. Dafinone, CEDDI Corporation Limited, and unnamed accomplices of conspiring to defraud him of ₦100 million.
According to the petition, Adeleke’s company, Lukman Communications Limited, was in negotiations with CEDDI Corporation Limited for the purchase of a property at 93 Broad Street, Lagos Island. Despite making a payment of ₦100 million, the property was allegedly sold to another buyer, Mrs. Ganiyat Ulom.
Adeleke claimed that after discovering the sale, he instructed his solicitors to issue a memorandum of claim to CEDDI Corporation Limited and Mrs. Ulom. However, both parties allegedly failed to respond, prompting him to file a lawsuit at the Lagos State High Court.
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