Acting Chief Magistrate Dexter Wason has rejected the no-case submission made by defence attorneys representing suspended Superintendent Ray John and his co-accused, Shakema Charles who are both accused of committing passport fraud.
Last year, the pair was acquitted when High Court Judge Tunde Bakre freed them after a three-week judge-only trial.
However, this reprieve was short-lived as the prosecution pushed for a new trial.
John and Charles face revised charges, with John shouldering two additional counts of receiving the unauthorized sheets.
Defence attorneys Hugh Marshall and Michael Archibald were fighting tooth and nail to have the case dismissed or, at the very least, tried in the Magistrates’ Court rather than the High Court.
They filed submissions arguing that restarting the matter would be an abuse of process and claiming that the prosecution should instead appeal Bakre’s decision.
However, on Wednesday, the Magistrate sided with the prosecution.
The matter will now return to the High Court for a fresh trial unless the duo chooses to enter guilty pleas. The committal hearing is scheduled for January 29.
