A United States court has dismissed a case against Olalekan Ponle, popularly known on social media as Woodbery, who was an alleged accomplice to Hushpuppi.
Woodberry was arrested alongside his fellow Nigerian friend, Ramon Abbas (Hushpuppi) in the United Arab Emirate on June 10 for multiple fraud charges after a raid by operatives of the Dubai crime unit. The duo was extradited to the U.S. on July 2.
In a report by premiumtimesng.com the United States government on Monday filed a motion through its attorney, John R. Lausch, requesting that the case against Mr Ponle should be dismissed without prejudice.
“Counsel for the government has spoken with counsel for the defendant and defendant’s counsel has no objection to this motion. Respectfully submitted,” Mr Lausch stated. He said it is in pursuant with Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure 48, which states that the government may, with leave of court, dismiss an indictment, information, or complaint.
Also, the government may not dismiss the prosecution during the trial without the defendant’s consent. A court order issued by Judge Robert W. Gettleman on Tuesday said the government’s motion to dismiss the complaint without prejudice was granted.
“Without objection, the complaint against defendant Ponle is dismissed without prejudice. Motion presentment hearing set for 7/23/2020 is stricken,” Mr Gettleman ruled. When a case is dismissed with prejudice, it is over and done with, once and for all, and can’t be brought back to court.