Nigeria, Jan. 28 -- The defence and the prosecution teams involved in the N5.2 billion fraud trial of a former Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Dibu Ojerinde, skipped proceedings at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday.

Mr Ojerinde, a professor, too, was absent from the hearing.

With neither the defendant nor the lawyers to the parties present, there was no update on the status of the settlement discussions they had said resumed more than six months ago.

The acclaimed settlement talks have stalled the trial, which has reached an advanced stage, since the parties informed the judge of the behind-the-scenes discussions in July last year.

When the matter was called before trial judge Obiora Egwatu...