Judge forced to withdraw from Farouk Lawan $620,000 bribery trial Justice Adebukola Banjoko of Abuja High Court sitting in Guru District on Tuesday withdrew from the trial of a former Chairman of the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on Fuel Subsidy Regime, Mr. Farouk Lawal and the committees secretary Bonoface Emenalo. She is the second judge to handle the case. Justice Mudashiru Oniyangi who initially heard the case was promoted to the Court of Appeal. Lawan and Emenalo are being prosecuted by the ICPC, for allegedly collecting $620,000 in the course of performing the committee’s duty in 2012. They allegedly collected the money as bribes from Femi Otedola so as to remove the names of his companies from those which allegedly defrauded the country under the fuel subsidy regime. Justice Banjoko, after withdrawing from the case, directed that the file be returned to the FCT Chief Judge, Justice Ibrahim Bukar, for re-assignment. In a short ruling, the judge said that athough the application asking her to disqualify herself had been withdrawn and the Chief Judge had cleared her of the allegation in Lawans petition against her, the allegation was a scandalous challenge of her integrity. The judge said in her ruling that though the application had been withdrawn and the Chief Judge had cleared her of the allegation in Lawan’s petition against her, the allegation was a “scandalous challenge” of her integrity. “In my 17 years on the bench – six years and as a magistrate and 11 years as a judge – I have never been confronted with a scandalous challenge of my integrity,” the judge said. Lawan’s counsel, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), who had filed the application dated October 29, 2014, asking the judge to quit the case, announced its withdrawal at the Tuesday’s proceedings. Apart from the application, Lawan had also personally petitioned the FCT Chief Judge, accusing Justice Banjoko of likely bias based on an alleged close relationship between her and the Chairman, Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd, Mr. Femi Otedola, who is a proposed witness and the accuser in the case. Ozekhome, who on Tuesday denied knowledge of the petition written by Lawan, had filed the application, asking the judge to disqualify herself from further handling the case based on his client’s allegation. However, Ozekhome made a U-turn on the application on Tuesday as he withdrew it and pleaded with the judge to overlook the wrong impression, which the application and his client’s petition must have created. The prosecuting counsel, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), also apologised on behalf of the accused person and urged the judge to continue with the case. But the judge refused to accede to the request of both parties, even as she denied the allegation that she and her family were close to Otedola. She, who reiterated that “justice is rooted in confidence”, said the accused, having first exhibited his lack of confidence in her, she could no longer continue to hear the case. “In the prevailing circumstances, I do find it difficult to continue this case. This case is returned to the honourable Chief Judge for re-assignment,” Justice Banjoko ruled. The case, when re-assigned will be handled by the third judge since the case commenced on February 1, 2013, when they were first arraigned on seven counts of bribery. The accused persons were re-arraigned before Justice Banjoko on June 11, 2014, following the elevation of the former trial judge, Justice Mudashiru Oniyangi, to the Court of Appeal. elombah/detail.php?world=27558
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 15:57:34 +0000
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