Chief Gani interrupted saying: “That was before-o”.
Chief Ohvowohoriole continued: “Oru is an interested party. His complaint should be taken with a pinch of salt. I can assure that there was nothing like that.”
All the while, while Chief Ohvowhoriole was addressing the court on the matter, Prof Darah had moved out of the gallery close to the judge, standing and watching.
When the court asked him to talk on the matter, G. G Darah, in his characteristic manner, addressed the court as if he was teaching his best subject in the class.
Said he: “My lord, my name is Prof G. G Darah. I never said anything as claimed. Gani can testify that I have immense respect for him. For instance, when the University of Ife, now OAU gave him an honour, I was the one who drafted and read the citation in his honour.
“In that citation, I publicly declared that he is one of the most important icons of law and jurisprudence in Africa and a courageous defender of the weak and the oppressed. I compared him to revolutionary lawyers such as Fidel Castro, V I Lennin. I still stand by that citation. I have never and will never say such a thing,” he added.
Chief Gani did not allow the opportunity to respond to slip as he also replied: “When I heard that, I thought may be the office of special assistant to the governor of an oil-rich state has changed him”.
Prof. Darah and Chief Gani eventually exchanged greetings in the open court and hugged each other.
According to Chief Oru, the threat which he claimed he understood to mean “death threat” was a serious thing that ought not to be overlooked.
It was at this juncture that the court said it believed Prof Darah, saying probably if there was any such utterance, it might be a slip or that somebody else said it.
Justice Murhktar said: “I think I will leave it at that. If there is an overt thing done, then we will know which direction to look. But I believe in what he said.
Last Monday, the case took a new turn.
Delta State Governor, James Onanefe Ibori was subpoenaed to appear before the high court in the on-going identification trial ordered by the Supreme Court to tackle former judge of Bwari Upper Area Court, Justice Yusuf, over his claim that he (Ibori) was an ex-convict.
Governor Ibori was summoned as a witness by two members of the ruling PDP, Messrs Goodnews Agbi and Anthony Alabi to establish their case against the governor.
Hints about the subpoena issued on the serving governor came Monday while a battery of lawyers led by Chief Paul Milton Ovhoworiole (SAN) was grilling Justice Yusuf over his claim that he had no doubt in his mind that it was Governor Ibori he convicted about nine years ago in his court sitting in Bwari.
It would be recalled that Justice Yusuf, two weeks ago, exploded from the witness box that he convicted Governor Ibori on September 28, 1995, after pleading guilty to a two-count charge of negligence and criminal breach of trust.
He had also told the court, on oath, that about seven years after he allegedly convicted the serving governor, Justice Yusuf said Governor Ibori invited him to the Delta State Government Office in Asokoro to bait him with a 10 million offer, in any currency of his choice, if only he could save him from untold embarrassment about the ex-convict case.
He had given a blow by blow account of how he convicted one James Onanefe Ibori nine years ago, his meeting with the serving governor and a key member of his cabinet in Asokoro seven years after.
He not only mentioned the name of Governor Ibori’s key officer who facilitated the meeting with the governor, he also described him, by size, appearance and the position he presently holds in the governor’s cabinet using meticulous description.
Prof. Amos Utuama who was identified in court on Monday by Justice Awwal Yusuf also confirmed to reporters, after the proceedings, that it was true they met with Justice Yusuf in Abuja but that newsmen should wait for unfolding revelations to know why they held a meeting with him.
However, Governor Ibori had severally and strenuously too, claimed that he was never convicted in his life, neither was he ever charged with any criminal offence.
His consistent claim has been that his adversaries were after him and wanted to ruin him and his political career, at all costs.
He had subsequently petitioned President Olusegun Obasanjo over the allegation which he said he took exception to, a development which made the president to refer the matter to the Inspector-General of Police for investigation.
Expatiating on how he was allegedly being framed, Governor Ibori had said that his name did not appear on any of the six First Information Reports (FIRs) which Justice Yusuf claimed was brought to his court for trial on September 28, 1995. He said what his enemies did was to superimpose his name on a convict’s name, one Shuaibu Anyebe.
According to him, whether anybody liked it or not, truth would eventually prevail.
Taking up his case in court on Wednesday, his retinue of lawyers tackled Justice Yusuf to prove his claim.
When Justice Yusuf started his evidence, he was flowing well but amid barrage of questions, he was confusing suit numbers of the cases he tried on September 28, 1995 for one another.
There was controversy during the cross-examination over whether Ibori’s name ever appeared on the court’s criminal complaint book and over whether Ibori’s name was superimposed on one of the six FIRs which Justice Yusuf said he treated on September 28, 1995.
But following hints from the presiding judge, Justice Mukhtar, Justice Yusuf started answering: “I don’t know, I cannot say,” where he was not sure of his facts.
The matter was adjourned last Wednesday till Monday following unavailability of two documents which Ibori’s counsel said were vital to their case.
The documents were the controversial criminal complaint book and the court record book of the Bwari Upper Area Court which convicted one James Onanefe Ibori in 1995.
They were neither in custody of Justice Yusuf nor the court, a development which made the presiding judge to accede to a short adjournment.
Subpoena was issued on the Federal Capital Territory High Court Chief Registrar, Mrs Aisha Abubakar Ibrahim to produce the documents in court.
At the resumed hearing of the case, Mrs Abubakar stepped into the witness box at exactly 9.30 am to tender the documents and make brief clarifications on them.
On affirming from the witness box, Aisha spoke: “I am on subpoena to produce two records — Criminal Complaint Book and Court Record Book for the Upper Area Court, Bwari. I have a copy of the subpoena on me (which was tendered).
Lifting each of the documents up for identification, Aisha spoke about how she came about them:
“There was a time the election petition tribunal subpoenaed the Abuja High Court chief judge to produce these records before the tribunal sitting in Abuja here. I can't remember the exact date now. But I think it was about two months that I called for them now and they have been with me since.
“I have with me the record book of September 28, 1995 on pages 877 to 889. These pages cover the record of proceedings of this said date. Pages 439 of the complaint book here with me contains CR 71-74 while page 441 contains CR 75 to CR 83. The number he is looking for are contained in pages 439 and 441,” she said.
It would be recalled that last Wednesday, there was a controversy over whether the names of James Onanefe Ibori were on the FIR with registration number CR 81\ 95 or whether it was on CR 85\95.
Explanations given under cross examination by Justice Yusuf on the issue was not clear before the matter was adjourned last week.
The unending controversy which Ibori counsel said was fundamental to the identification trial made Chief Ohvoworiole to ask for the production of the documents.
On the state of the produced documents, Aisha told the court again:
“I did not make a single entry into these two record books. I was only asked to keep them officially for tender before the tribunal. It is now three months, the tribunal has not sat and I have been in possession. The record books are authentic documents, being official records of the court. But if some pages therein have been torn off, removed or mutilated, my lord, I will still not say that the documents are not authentic rather, I will say that they have been tampered with,” she added.
Aisha stepped out of the witness box at exactly 10.48am.
Almost immediately, the cross-examination session of Justice Yusuf that was stopped temporarily the previous day was re-opened.
Yusuf, a six-footer bounced into the witness box smiling. He was more composed than he was at the last adjourned date.
He was questioned on each of the facts he made to the court last Wednesday including whether all the six FIRs that came before him on September 28 were registered in the criminal complaints book (CCB), whether Ibori’s name ever appeared in the CCB and whether Ibori was really convicted on FIR with registration number CR 81\95 among others.
On whether one James Onanefe Ibori’s name was among the six FIRs recorded on the CCB on September 28, 1995, Justice Yusuf said Ibori’s name was not recorded and that instead of six FIRs which he earlier said were registered, he admitted that only five were registered.
On whether one James Onanefe Ibori was tried summarily by him in a suit with registration number CR 81\95 as earlier claimed by him, he said it was one Shuaib Anyebe’s name that was on the record.
But he quickly added that the record of the court had been tampered with, stressing that it was James Onanefe Ibori that was tried and convicted in the charge.
Straying outside the question asked him, Justice Yusuf drew the attention of the court to the body of the record of proceedings in suit number CR 81\95 where the name of James Onanefe Ibori repeatedly appeared but that on the charge sheet, Shuaibu Anyebe’s name was superimposed.
His efforts to draw the attention of the court to the fact earned him vituperation from counsel to Governor Ibori to which he also blew hot before the presiding judge. Justice Murkhtar, intervened.
Still on the charge number CR 81\95, Ibori’s counsel accused Justice Yusuf and his support staff of tampering with them in order to implicate his client, Governor James Ibori, to which he replied “No Sir.”
On the charge that was pressed against Shuaibu Anyebe, Yusuf admitted that on the record, it was negligence and criminal breach of trust but he also explained that it was one James Onanefe Ibori that was charged in the said suit and not Anyebe, claiming that the court’s record had been tampered with.
On the removal of some pages of the record of proceedings for September 28, 1995, Justice Yusuf also said that the tampering confirmed his earlier claim that some people had deliberately tampered with the relevant pages wherein Shuaibu Anyebe was tried and convicted in order to bring about confusion.
But Ibori’s counsel put it to Justice Yusuf that it was he and his support staff that tore off the pages in order to cover some tracks to which he replied “no”
On the value of the property that was stolen on which one James Onanefe Ibori allegedly stood trial, Yusuf said it was N110,000 but the defence claimed that he had tampered with it, saying in the court’s record, it was N110 million.
On his statements to the police when they waded into the petition written by Governor Ibori to President Obasanjo to complain that some people wanted to frame him up, he said he was not with the statements.
Defence counsel consequently asked for adjournment in order to procure the documents from the police officer who was in custody of it and who unfortunately was not in the country with the Police Inspector-General.
The request for adjournment provoked Chief Gani Fawehinmi who said they were asking for adjournment so that they could stall the trial. He was of the view that since the court would soon go on vacation, the defence wanted to stall it so that they would be able to buy more time.
His allegation made the defence to ask him to call his next witness if he was in court to which Chief Fawehinmi retorted: “It is not done. When a witness is yet to be discharged, you can't call another one. It is elementary in law that you cannot do that.”
The case was later adjourned till last Monday, but on the condition that the Inspector-General of Police and another senior police officer in custody of the statements of Justice Yusuf would have returned to Nigeria to testify and produce the documents .
But shortly after the proceedings, Delta State Information Commissioner, Magnus Onyibe spoke with newsmen on the case, saying: “What has happened today in court is a vindication of Governor James Ibori. He had always said that the documents which allegedly indicted him were forged and that the court’s records were falsified. This is a case of forgery.
“Some people were arrested over the falsification. You have heard yourself during the proceedings today how Justice Yusuf was contradicting the records.
“It is believed that those pages were removed and replaced with Ibori’s name. It is now clear to everybody that the claim of the witness, Justice Yusuf, is that the court record did not say a James Ibori was convicted and that is why the executive governor has never allowed the matter to make him lose his sleep or his focus on the governance of the state.
Chief Fawehinmi also spoke to newsmen on their decision to subpoena Governor Ibori. He said: “It is just to nail him. We want him to face the judge that convicted him in 1995 so that he could be identified to the court as the ex-convict. We anticipate that he might not come but if he does, it will make our job easier. He cannot run away from the fact.”
Lead counsel to Governor Ibori, Chief Ohwovoriole, also said that Justice Yusuf contradicted himself severally.
On the part of the Delta State Commissioner of Justice, Prof Amos Utuama, he confirmed that they met with Justice Yusuf in Abuja but that they will reveal why they did as events unfold.
At the end of the day, there would be implications whichever way the court’s judgement goes. It would either be that Justice Yusuf was wrong or that Governor Ibori was the one tried and convicted on September 28, 1995.
