By Terna Chikpa
The Upper Area Court II in Jalingo on Thursday commenced hearing in the alleged criminal breach of trust suit instituted by Mr. Jubri Isa against a Taraba-based businessman and journalist, Mr. Gabriel Olayinka.
PERISCOPE NIGERIA reports that Mr. Olayinka has been in detention at the Jalingo Correctional Centre since January 2026.
The newspaper also reports that on June 24, 2026, the court ordered the managers of Zenith Bank Plc, Jalingo Branch, Globus Bank, and Opay to appear and tender the statements of account for Taraba Business School, a business outfit owned by Mr. Olayinka.
When the matter came up for hearing, the managers of Zenith Bank and Globus Bank appeared and tendered the requested documents before the court, while the Opay representative failed to appear and did not provide any written explanation for the absence.
Counsel to the complainant, Barr. D.G. Tukura, informed the court that his client’s witnesses were ready to testify if all the bank representatives had complied with the court’s order.
Tukura argued that the bank subpoenas formed the foundation of his client’s case and that the absence of the Opay representative had made it impossible for him to proceed. He therefore urged the court to compel Opay to appear on the next adjourned date to enable him to close his case.
Counsel to the defendant, Barr. Longs Lugnan of P.D. Pius and Associates, did not oppose the application and urged the court to adjourn the matter for the continuation of hearing.
Lugnan, however, appealed for the shortest possible adjournment, noting that his client had been in detention for six months and that the court had earlier promised an accelerated hearing.
The trial judge, Hon. Lawan Jika, ordered that the Opay representative be re-served with the subpoena and directed the company to appear and tender the requested documents unfailingly on July 17, 2026.
The matter was subsequently adjourned to July 17, 2026, for continuation of hearing.
