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Tag: Judge

  • Big Brother: We judge too quickly, By Okoh Aihe

    Big Brother: We judge too quickly, By Okoh Aihe

    By Okoh Aihe

    A couple of months ago when I had a long conversation with one of my close friends, Big Brother, the TV global franchise, crept in very unconsciously. We had no idea that season five was close to the stage of execution. We were talking about the lockdown forced by COVID-19 and how the worst colours of our nation were coming out, all for the very base reason that emotions and weaknesses couldn’t be kept within normalcy and had boiled over for the sake of the lockdown.

    There is more criminality at the moment without consequences. Rape is becoming an epidemic. Flip through the pages of newspapers or spend some time in front of the TV, all kinds of gory tales would spew out – the story of a 70 year old man raping a two year old child; fathers sleeping with their daughters and, in some cases, impregnating them and procuring abortions.

    Pray, what kind of headline is that which says: 70 year old man rapes a two year old? There has to be a more ignoble way, some level of infamy and opprobrium to capture that elderly bestiality and scum. How does a two-year old fight to ward off the erotic violence of a degenerate elder? Within the period, Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Pauline Tallen, disclosed that a total of 3600 cases of rape were reported nationwide. This figure may not include the young boys and children who also get sexually violated. There has to be an expediency in the law that protects the children and the womenfolk from these animals in human skin, apologies to Fela, the late afrobeat proponent.

    So, what was Big Brother doing in an innocuous conversation between friends? Our observation that day was, there have always been selective lockdowns to test the limit of human endurance within a period. Big Brother, influenced by George Orwell’s novel, 1984, but beginning a fresh life from the Netherlands in 1997, is paradigmatic of such tested lockdowns. In the franchised edition of Multichoice, a group of young boys and girls are kept in a treated house – with microphones, cameras and all kinds of tech gizmos – for weeks under the close supervision of Big Brother who is always watching over them. Progressively, the characters under the manipulation and control of the ever present guardian begin to grow out of themselves, develop traits attributable to survival of the fittest; there are betrayals more than you see in the open society as they all have their eyes on the ultimate prize; morality is in short supply and almost immediately, flames of love, some very pseudo, begin to fly. All this time, Big Brother is watching them.

    This is when we begin to condemn them, for being too weak in their skin and for betraying fellow humans. We are most creative in writing to condemn the flaws in their character. I once did, taking one of them to the cleaners for moving beyond that license of creativity and endurance on live television. I will do so today should that happen again. My point of interest here is that Big Brother is a microcosm of a lockdown world; yet the characters in the TV programme have fared better than the Nigerian society which has witnessed a lockdown for a few months and the beast is out there ruining the lives of very young people and rubbing shame on the elderly. Young girls are unsafe before their parents and toddlers have become juicy toads in the toothless mouths of shameless elders. In their infamy Big Brother waves a standard flag.

    These were the thoughts that assailed my mind a few weeks ago not the intrusiveness of a Minister who is trying to recalibrate our lives by defining for us the meaning of standards on live television. I am witness to the fact that each time the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, speaks, there are more likely to be obtuse and incongruous developments below the expectations of a person of such high standing in the society. Credulity is more likely to suffer in the face of hyperbole and good intentions are often tarred with the brush of rejection and jaundiced profiling.

    For a truth, I am not watching Big Brother, season five right now. At my age more things occupy the mind; there are more demands, and the society expects some level of studied intervention from my generation on issues affecting growth and development and such demands do not accommodate frivolities and banalities.

    Yet I feel traduced by the actions of a Minister whose meddlesomeness on regulatory issues will throw mud on the face of a nation already swimming in the mire. I have been close enough to broadcasting to understand that Big Brother cannot flag off in the season of a pandemic without necessary precautions being taken. I am fortunate to always have privileged relationship with top layer of the regulatory authority since 1992, when broadcast liberalization started in Nigeria, to know the history of Big Brother and the efforts the regulator has made over time to humanize and domesticate the programme in Nigeria. Is it perfect yet? Not all. I will want to observe that in a regulated industry the government should have frontal relationship with the operators through the regulator but not by threatening the regulator to make a regulatory intervention on issues like programming but should ensure that the regulator subjects all its actions to the laws of the land before any decision can be taken.

    My hackneyed position in this matter is that when a Minister stomps around the industry, threatening fire and brimstone and throwing his or her ephemeral ministerial weight around, they are engaging in actions that invalidate our nationhood by telling the world that we are a country that harbour no respect for modern laws. They hurt our rating and attenuate our humanity.

    I have seen some kind of push back from the programme owners detailing how much they are spending on Big Brother, season 5, although you can’t directly point out who is talking within the organization. And I feel sorry for them, the reason being that at this time, misfortune seems to be pouring on them. A Broadcast Code has recently been released that threatens their hold on the market, both the House of Representatives and the Ministry are pushing the pay TV operator to introduce pay-as-you-go into its subscription model, and now this: the panning of Big Brother.

    Multichoice says it is spending about N2bn to put the season five of Big Brother together. In fairness, this is not what tickles me. Rather, it hurts me that this figure will be lost on some people because we are a nation drifting away from reality; a people to whom statistics bear little relevance. Just the same way you would look at the big churches in Nigeria, say Redeem, Living Faith or Dunamis among others, put programmes together, people are jumping at the seamy side without looking at how they impact their immediate communities or economy. I once got into Lagos by 8pm one night two years ago and there was a church programme going on. My hotel reservation was a helpless casualty and I couldn’t get a hotel room at Ikeja until 1am in the morning. I wasn’t angry. I was asking myself, is anybody taking records of all this?

    Still on Big Brother, some people are going to say, there have always been remonstrations about the content across the world. Oh, you are right, very right. Early in the life of Big Brother, the whole of Europe worried sick about this and looked for ways to obviate the impact of a programme that was having a global spread. When Germany launched her version in 2000, the country’s interior minister, Otto Schily, is on record to have called on “viewers to boycott the show if they still cherish feeling for human dignity.”

    Since then life has progressed. Technology has progressed even more, in fact, so exponentially that you make a choice of what you watch despite the ubiquitous presence of Big Brother. You can freeze Big Brother out of your screen with a touch of the TV or DSTV remote control. This choice should be left to the subscriber and not the puritanical presence of one man who knows what everybody wants.

    Okoh Aihe writes from Abuja

  • Primary: PDP drags judge to CJN over judgement on Obaseki

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has filed a petition against Justice Emmanuel Obile of the Port Harcourt Division of the Federal High Court.

    The petition, which was dated June 23, was addressed to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Tanko Muhammad and signed by Dakzel Longii Shamnas.

    The petition was a fallout of an alleged order given by Justice Obile on Monday barring Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki from participating in the PDP’s governorship election primary slated for June 25.

    The suit was filed against Obaseki by Mr Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, one of the PDP aspirants jostling for the party’s ticket. The leadership of the PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were also joined as co-defendants.

    The petitioner stated that Justice Obile did not approach the matter with circumspection, stressing that he ought not to have entertained the matter in the first place.

    “In respect of the said suit, we note that Hon. Justice E. A. Obile did not approach the matter with circumspection. His Lordship thereby played into the hands of unscrupulous politicians.

    “Your Lordship may wish to take judicial notice of the fact following apparently intractable intra-party squabble in the All Progressives Congress (APC), Governor Godwin Obaseki recently defected to the PDP to pursue his political ambition of re-election as the governor of Edo State for a second term of office.

    “The primary election of the PDP for the forthcoming governorship election has been scheduled to hold on the 25″‘ day of June 2020 in Benin City, the capital of Edo State.

    “The subject matter of the suit is the governorship primary election of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), therefore the PDP is the principal defendant as it would be most affected by any order to be made by the court.

    “The headquarters of the PDP is in Abuja. The screening of candidates for the gubernatorial election which the Plaintiff is complaining of in the suit took place in Abuja.

    “The headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is in Abuja. On the other hand, the primary election is to take place in Benin City; and the 8th Defendant (Governor Godwin Obaseku) sought to be restrained from contesting the primary election is also based in Benin City.

    “Thus there is no nexus between the facts of this matter and Port Harcourt. These facts ought to have been taken into consideration by Hon. Justice E.A. Obile in Iine with the dictates of the extant practice and procedure of the Federal High Court in volatile pre-election matters such as the instant case.

    “The Plaintiff lives in Benin City. His address in the affidavits in support of his motions for substituted service and interim injunction is 14 Adesogbe Road, Benin City, Edo State.

    “But he went to Port Harcourt to file the suit when there is a Federal Hugh Court in Benin City. This should have made Hon. Justice E.A. Obile to be cautious.

    “Hon. Justice E. A. Obile while going through originating processes before assuming jurisdiction should have recognized that the Port Harcourt Division of Federal High Court was chosen to make it impossible for the Defendants to appear before the court and to have tall hearing in the matter.

    “This is reinforced by the applications for abridgment of time and substituted service as well as the time-bound nature of the primary election.

    “The intention to deny the Defendants fair hearing is also borne out of the fact that the Plaintiff applied for and was granted substituted service of the processes of the court as well as abridgment of time.

    “The orders were made on the 22“ day of June 2020, the primary election is coming up on the 25th day of June, 2020 and the 30 days for the Defendants to respond to suit was abridged to two days, thus the matter is coming up on the 24th day of June, 2020, while the primary election is holding on the 25th day of June 2020 leaving only one day for parties to take further legal steps. The orders were made by a Judge of the Federal High Court who should be cognizant of its implications.”

    The party sought immediate disciplinary measure against Justice Obile for invidiously assuming jurisdiction and “taking sides” in the political conflict in Edo State with a view to disrupting the political process.

  • BREAKING: Judge who annulled June 12 presidential election is dead

    BREAKING: Judge who annulled June 12 presidential election is dead

    The Judge who annulled the June 12, 1993 presidential election, presumed to be the freest and fairest in the nation’s history, Dahiru Saleh, is dead.

    According The Cable, he was buried in Azare, his hometown, in Bauchi on Thursday evening.

    Until his death, he held the title of “Mutawallen” of Katagum emirate in Bauchi.

    He was the Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court.

    Chief MKO Abiola, who was recognised as an elected President posthumously by President Muhammadu Buhari, of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) was leading Bashir Tofa, his National Republican Convention rival, by margin wide before Saleh ruled to cancel the final announcement.

    What followed was months of protests, which forced Military President Ibrahim Babangida, to finally “step aside”.

    Abiola was later incarcerated and died in detention on July 7, 1998.

    Details shortly…

  • Coronavirus: Judge denies R. Kelly’s bail request

    Coronavirus: Judge denies R. Kelly’s bail request

    American singer and songwriter, Robert Sylvester Kelly widely known as R. Kelly has been denied a release from jail after requesting to be freed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

    The 53-year-old singer is currently being held at the Chicago Metropolitan Correctional Center, where he is awaiting trial on racketeering, sexual misconduct and other charges in three jurisdictions.

    According to CNN, Kelly’s attorneys had requested that the singer be on home confinement at the Roosevelt Collections apartment complex in Chicago, arguing that he is at risk of contracting coronavirus in prison.

    The attorneys had also complained that the country’s new restrictions to reduce the spread of COVID-19 have made it impossible for them to meet with their client (Kelly) and prepare for trial.

    According to legal documents, a judge in Chicago denied the motion, saying that the 53-year-old singer remains a flight risk.

    The judge said: “that he is a flight risk and that he poses danger to the community, particularly to prospective witnesses. The defendant has not explained how those risks have changed.”

    The judge also explained there are no confirmed cases of the virus at Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in Chicago where the singer is currently in.

    The singer had also argued that he is part of the COVID-19 at-risk group, but the judge said that Kelly is fifty-three years old, thus twelve years younger than the ‘older adults’ defined by the CDC to be at high risk to the virus.

    Kelly also noted that he’s had surgery while in jail making him susceptible to the virus. The judge said, “he does not explain how his surgical history places him at a higher risk of severe illness. Moreover, officials in Chicago have advised the government that doctors have completed all treatment for the defendant’s recent operation.”

  • Judge handling corruption case against ex-Katsina gov, Shema dies in car accident

    Judge handling corruption case against ex-Katsina gov, Shema dies in car accident

    The people of Katsina state and their Governor, Aminu Bello Masari, were thrown into mourning over the weekend following the death of judge with the State High Court, Justice Ibrahim Maikaita Bako, who died along Katsina –Funtua road.

    Until his death, Justice Maikata Bako was handling the corruption case involving the EFFCC and Former Katsina State Governor Ibrahim Shehu Shema

    Governor Masari, in a statement signed by his Director-General, Media, Abdu Labaran Malumfashi, described Justice Bako as an illustrious son of Katsina State who distinguished himself in the legal career.

    He said ‘’Justice Bako, who was a High Court judge up to his death made Katsina State proud by distinguishing himself in his chosen career’’.

    He said ’’His death would reverberate beyond the shores of Katsina and Nigeria given the profound role he played in one of the most important institutions in Nigeria, nay globally, ie the judiciary’’.

    The Governor further condoled the immediate families of the deceased on behalf of himself, the government and people of Katsina State and prayed Allah to forgive him all his sins and other shortcomings, even as he urged the bereaved to take consolation in the fact that the revered judge had lived a fulfilled life.

    Also in his condolence message, the Chief Judge of Katsina state, Justice Musa Abubakar Danladi, regretted that the state will be missing one of the leading light in the state’s judiciary

    Justice Danladi appealed to the family of the deceased to take solace in the good work the departed judge has left behind before his death.

    The late judge was involved in a road accident while travelling from Katsina to Funtua last Friday and was taken to a hospital in Abuja for treatment where he later died.

  • BREAKING: Judge withdraws from Sowore’s suit, gives reasons

    BREAKING: Judge withdraws from Sowore’s suit, gives reasons

    Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday, recused himself from a suit brought by Omoyele Sowore, Convener, #RevolutionNow, currently before him.

    Mohammed made this known to parties at the mention of the motion ex-parte with suit number: FHC/ABJ/CS/1409/19 filed by Sowore, the publisher of Sahara Reporters, to challenge his continued detention by the Department of State Service (DSS).

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that while Sowore is the applicant, the Director General of DSS and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) are 1st and 2nd defendants in this matter.

    The judge told counsel representing parties in the case that he decided to withdraw from the matter because Sahara Reporters, an online media, had in 2016 and 2019 accused him of collecting bribe in a case between the Federal Government and Gabriel Suswam, former Benue Governor and current senator representing the state at the National Assembly.

    Mohammed, who sought the opinions of the lawyers, said in the interest of justice, it would be better for him to recuse himself.

    The judge then stood down the case for few minutes.

    “I have an issue with this matter. I want you, counsel, to look at it before we come back. I want to have your opinions.

    “When the registrar of this court called me and informed me that I will be handling this matter, I asked if the chief judge was around and I was told he traveled for Christmas.

    “Inside me, my conscience is telling me I should not take this matter subject to what people will say and what you will think.

    “This applicant is a publisher of Sahara Reporter. Sometimes in 2016, he accused me of taking money for a matter to compromise the course of justice and I returned the case file but it was returned back to me that it would not be reassigned.

    “Again this year, around June, the same applicant accused me of taking money again on the same case and I had to hands off again.

    “Then the case was reassigned to Justice Abang.

    “In all honesty, will it be fair for me to sit on this matter concerning the publisher?” he asked.

    Mohammed, who said parties’ confidence was paramount in a matter, said: “justice is a fair trial.”

    “What if in a way my order seems not to be favourable, I will be seen as being paid for, or when the proceeding is even going on, the applicant himself will be apprehensive what judgment will this judge gives,” he added.

    Earlier on Monday, Sowore’s lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, who said he was ready for the matter, had informed the court that they filed an application of enforcement of the applicant’s fundamental human right dated Nov 15.

    Godwin Agbadua, counsel to the DSS, told the court that he got to know about the proceeding through the media.

    “I leant the 1st responding, DSS DG, was summoned to be in court today.

    “We are today in court because of the high respect we have for the court.

    “We are unaware that the applicant has filed several processes against the 1st respondent but what we are not aware of is the process before this court that brought us here today.

    “In this regard, we will be relying solely on the court guidance for this application because we have not been served with the summon directing 1st respondent to appear today,” he said.

    On his part, the AGF lawyer, Abdullahi Abubakar, told the court that the AGF had filed his processes earlier dated Dec. 5.

    “We also filed a motion, we filed further and better affidavit in response to the counter affidavit and notice of hearing of the motion on Dec. 19,” he said.

    Abubakar hinted that though a preliminary objection had been filed, he would need time to regularise this.

    Falana, however, objected to Abubakar’s submission of asking for more time.

    He said he was surprised that Agbadua said he read about the case proceeding through the media.

    “My learned friend met us this morning and he did not ask why we were here,” he said.

    Falana told the court that Agbadua wouldn’t have moved for adjournment of the matter because he never said he was not ready for the case.

    Agbadua, however, said he had not been served with processes.

    “Someone whose matter is to be determined by court ought to be informed that this matter is to be determined.

    “Where there is no service of processes, including hearing notice, whatever that is done as to the matter in connection with such party will be a nullity,” he had argued.

    On his part, Falana insisted that Agbadua had been served with all the processes.

    “He has been served. My learned friend has all the processes,” he said.

    Justice Mohammed, who decided to afford all the parties to take a look at the processes in court file, also read out the letters sent to the DSS and office of the AGF by Deputy Registrar, Litigation, informing them of the proceeding, and delivered by the bailiff on Dec. 19 to both offices.

    Judge, who was unhappy with Agbadua’s comment, later stood down the case for the parties to regularise all the processes and to seek for their opinions on his decision to withdraw from the case.

    When the court reconvened, Falana said though he had no course to doubt the judge, it was better in the interest of justice for Justice Mohammed to recuse himself from the matter.

    “I am flabbergasted by this. Although I am not aware of this publication, My Lord, as you raised this matter, my mind went to a case of Late Chief M.K.O. Abiola Vs FGN in 1995 where a Supreme Court disqualified eight justices from hearing any of the appeal arising from Abiola’s case on ground that the Concord Newspaper of which Abiola was the publisher had written a story concerning the eight justices which had led to the institution of libel suit against the newspaper.

    “It was a unanimous decision of the apex court that the justice of the case requires that the justices should recuse themselves..

    “As My Lord has rightly noted, justice must not only be done but must have been seen to have been done.

    “In view of this, we are of the view that this case is sent back to the chief judge for reassignment.

    “Also my Lord, this is a case in which the integrity of this honourable court has been questioned by armed invasion of the court which occurred on Dec 6, 2019,” he said.

    On his part, the DSS lawyer, Agbadua, said in order for the public not to misconstrued the position of the security outfit, it would be better not to make a comment on the judge’s decision.

    “The learned SAN has said it all. Most importantly the agency I represent has been in the media over this matter.

    “For that singular reason, I will not state a position on whether or not My Lord can hear it because it could be misconstrued to be in form of the agency trying to delay the hearing,” he said.

    However, the AGF lawyer, Abubakar, did not oppose the judge’s decision.

    Justice Mohammed, who then recused himself from the suit, ordered that the case file be transferred to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, for reassignment.

    NAN reports that Justice Inyang Ekwo had, on Dec. 17, fixed today, Dec. 23 to hear from the DSS and AGF why Sowore should not be released from custody.

    Sowore, through his lawyer, Falana, had filed a motion ex-parte before Justice Ekwo to demand for his unconditional release from the DSS detention in pursuance of the release order made by Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu on Nov. 6.

    He said his continued detention regardless of the release order made by the court on Nov. 6 was “unlawful, unconstitutional, null and void.”

    NAN reports that the operatives of the DSS had rearrested Sowore shortly after a court proceeding at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Dec. 6, barely 24 hours of releasing him and his co-defendant, Olawale Bakare, from custody.

    Justice Ojukwu had fixed Feb. 11, 2020, as next adjourned date.

    However, Abubakar Malami, SAN, the AGF and Minister of Justice, had, on Dec. 13, announced his take over of the prosecution of Sowore in the charge of treasonable felony levied against him.

  • BREAKING: Kidnapped Ondo judge regains freedom

    BREAKING: Kidnapped Ondo judge regains freedom

    The abducted Justice Abdul Dogo of the Federal High Court, Akure, Ondo State, has regained freedom.

    According to reports, the judge, who was kidnapped on Tuesday at Ibilo town, Edo State, was reportedly set free on Friday night.

    He was set to have regained his freedom together with his driver.

    Meanwhile, it is yet to be ascertained whether ransom was paid following the initial demand of N50 million by his abductors.

    The circumstances of his release are still sketchy.

    Details later…

  • Panic as judge shoots self in courtroom

    A chief judge on Friday at a provincial court in southern Thailand shot himself in the chest but survived.

    Khanakorn Phianchana, the chief judge at Yala Provincial Court, was seriously injured and was rushed to the hospital after he shot himself with his own handgun in a courtroom.

    After having delivered a verdict on a minor case, the judge mumbled to attendees in the courtroom, saying he was so tired of living his life overwhelmed by work.

    Moments later, he rose to his feet, turned his back to the attendees, quickly drew the handgun from his suit and shot himself.

  • Judge opens account in maid’s name, saves N870m – ICPC

    A Nigerian judge, Margaret Igbeta, who retired as president of the Benue state Customary Court of Appeal, opened an account 11 years ago at Ecobank, in the name of her maid and saved N870million($2.4million) during the period.

    Her bulging bank account understandably drew the attention of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), which has rushed to the Federal High Court in Abuja for the interim forfeiture of N840 million left in the account.

    Igbeta is being accused by ICPC investigators of opening an account in the name of her housemaid, Theodora Atsu on the 5th of March, 2008, with an initial deposit of N8 million.

    Mrs. Rasheedat A. Okoduwa, spokesman of the commission said Monday night: “The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has requested a Federal High Court, Abuja, to order the interim forfeiture of N840 million traced to a retired President of the Benue State Customary Court of Appeal, Mrs. Margaret Igbeta.

    “The Commission, in an ex-parte motion filed at the court, said that the order would stop Mrs. Igbeta from accessing the money alleged to have been obtained through fraudulent activities in the course of her official duties.

    “ICPC noted that the request for the interim forfeiture is pursuant to Section 48 (1), (2) and (3) (a) and (b) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 and Section 6 (6)(a) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended.

    “The retired President of the Customary Court of Appeal was accused of operating a proxy fixed deposit account in the name of her maid, one Theodora Atsu, with Ecobank Plc, where she accumulated N870, 321, 492.15 between 2008 and 2019.

    “She was said to have opened the account with her passport and the name of Atsu on the 5th of March, 2008, with an initial deposit of N8 million.

    “She subsequently made several other huge deposits including N123, 745, 925.57 and N5 million, in the months of March and May, 2008.

    “It was also noted by the Commission that the money was far above her legitimate earnings both as a judge and President of the Customary Court of Appeal within the period that the account was operated and would have used to meet the infrastructural needs of the citizens and development of the nation.

    “ICPC therefore prayed the court to grant the order in the interest of the nation.”

  • Buhari has sacked you, Judge tells Ofili-Ajumogobia

    Buhari has sacked you, Judge tells Ofili-Ajumogobia

    A Federal High Court in Lagos Friday held that President Muhammadu Buhari dismissed Mrs. Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia as a judicial officer on November 7, 2018.

    Justice Mohammed Rilwan Aikawa held that, thus, Ofili-Ajumogobia cannot – by claiming that she is a judge – stall her trial for alleged money laundering.

    The charge was brought against her by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC),

    Justice Aikawa stated this while dismissing Ofili-Ajumogobia’s preliminary objection challenging her trial as well as the court’s jurisdiction to try her.

    The judge read out the President’s memo of November 7, 2018, approving Ofili-Ajumogobia’s dismissal from the Bench as recommended by the National Judicial Council (NJC).

    He said: “The president has approved the recommendation of NJC and has therefore approved the dismissal of the 1st defendant/applicant.

    “In my view, the first defendant (Ofili-Ajumogobia) has been dismissed as a judicial officer.

    “In the light of this, she can stand trial as she is no longer a judicial officer.

    “The application lacks merit and is accordingly dismissed” the judge held.

    Earlier in the ruling, the judge disagreed with the argument of the first defendant’s counsel that the exhibit marked ‘Restricted’ is a private document.

    He held that the document exhibit EFCC 02, though marked ‘Restricted’ but bearing the coat of arm of Federal Republic of Nigeria qualified it as a public document.

    “An official letter from the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Chief Justice of Nigeria is a public document,” Justice Aikawa said.

    In the same vein, the application filed by the second defendant Godwin Obla (SAN) to quash counts one, two and three for abuse of court process or in the alternative separate his trial from the charge against the Ofili-Ajumogobia and be tried separately was also dismissed by the court.

    Referring to the trial of the defendants at the Ikeja High Court of Lagos State, Justice Aikawa said in that judgement, the case was only struck out.

    “The defendants in that trial were not discharged and acquitted.

    He held that they could therefore be re-arraigned before another court if the prosecution wishes to reopen the case.

    On issue of the matter in the Appeal Court, the judge said provisions of ACJA had not rendered trial in the matter invalid.

    Consequently, the court rejected Obla’s first prayer.

    It also refused the second leg of the application.

    In conclusion, Justice Aikawa held: “The trial of the two defendants will go together. I therefore refuse the second application.

    After the ruling, prosecution counsel Rotimi Oyedepo made an oral application for accelarated hearing of the matter. He prayed for a date for commencement of trial.

    After conferring with the defence counsel comprising Mr F.O. Dawodu (SAN), for first defendant, Chief Ifedayo Adedipe (SAN) and Ferdinand Orbih (SAN), for 2nd defendant, a date was agreed on.

    Justice Aikawa then adjourned the matter to October 24 and 25 for commencement of trial.

    The EFCC charged Ofili-Ajumogobia and a Senior Advocate of NIGERIA (SAN) Godwin Obla, on 18 counts bordering on Conspiracy, Unlawful Enrichment, retention of Crime Proceeds and Money Laundering.

    They pleaded not guilty and were each admitted to bail in the sum of N10 million with two sureties in like sum.

    The defendants were first brought before an Ikeja division of the High Court of Lagos State which struck out the charge on jurisdictional grounds.

    The EFCC then preferred same charges against them at the Federal High Court.

    In the charge, EFCC alleged that the defendants conspired on May 21, 2014, to indirectly conceal different sums of money, in the Diamond Bank account of Nigel & Colive Ltd, a company alleged to be operated by Ajumogobia.

    They were further alleged to have conspired to retain in same account, the sum of N500 million, which they both reasonably ought to have known formed part of proceeds of unlawful acts of unlawful enrichment.

    Specifically, Ajumogobia was alleged to have on different dates in 2014, retained sums of monies like: N5million, 150,000 dollars, 20,000 dollars, 30,000 dollars, 50,000 dollars, and 55,000 dollars in the Diamond bank account of Nigel and Colive.

    Besides, the Commission also accused Ajumogobia of indirectly concealing the sum of N12million in the same account, and making false statement to the EFCC that the money was payment for sale of a landed property.

    The alleged offences contravene the provisions of Sections 15 (2) (a) and 18 (a) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act.