Court admits report on Ibori's alleged conviction
- Governor faults judge's report
From Emmanuel Onwubiko,
Abuja
AN Abuja High Court yesterday admitted in evidence the report of the Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Justice Lawal Hassan Gummi, which identified the Delta State Governor, Chief James Onanefe Ibori, as the person convicted in the 1995 case.
The governor in a statement yesterday, however, faulted the report, arguing that Justice Gummi failed to observe fair hearing in his investigation.
The Supreme Court had ruled that the man, whose identity is being unravelled by the court, was convicted by an Upper Area Court, Bwari, Abuja, on September 28, 1995, of criminal negligence and breach of trust.
With the admission of Gummi's report as exhibit "F" by Justice Husseini Muktar, the plaintiffs, through their counsel, Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN), yesterday announced the closure of their submission.
However, the court turned down the plaintiffs' prayer that Gummi should appear before it as a relevant witness. It also discountenanced the subpoena issued by the plaintiff on the FCT Chief Judge to appear as a witness.
But a statement by Ibori's Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Sheddy Ozoene, said that the governor's opposition to the subpoena on Justice Gummi was to protect the judiciary from ridicule.
It said that the defence team's action was "to save the Nigerian judiciary from further humiliation and the embarrassment that would have attended his appearance."
The statement added: "This is moreso since the CJ's report on the Ibori case, which he submitted to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, is based on a one-sided investigation that excluded both Governor Ibori himself and the Police, in utter disregard for the principles of fair hearing."
According to the governor, Justice Gummi "relied heavily on the reports of a certain section of the press and raised questions on his integrity as an impartial arbiter."
The judge's report, exhibit "F," reads in part: "From all available evidence, it is clear that the Upper Area Court, Bwari, tried and convicted James Onanefe Ibori for negligent conduct and criminal breach of trust on 28/9/95. Such evidence also points to the fact that the present Governor of Delta State was the same James Onanefe Ibori that was so tried and convicted on 28/9/95 for the offences stated."
The judge added that it was easy to deduce that "someone was able to tamper with the record of the court in a bid to cover up the conviction of James Onanefe Ibori. Knowing that both Shuaibu and James Onanefe Ibori were facing the same charges on different (First Information Reports) FIRs, the person decided to take away the FIR of James Onanefe Ibori before it was registered."
It continued: "The person or persons also removed all the pages of the criminal record book relating to the proceedings about the trial in the conviction of Shuaibu Anyebe. These pages (884 and 885) of the Criminal Report book would have shown conclusively that Shuiabu Anyebe and James Onanefe Ibori were both convicted for similar offences on the said date (i.e.) 28/9/95. A closer examination of the criminal record book on page 887 would show that the entries made therein were original entries. Nothing was super-imposed on anything, contrary to the claims of some people."
Although Ibori's lawyers said they were opposing the subpoena served on the governor by the plaintiffs to appear as a relevant witness, the prosecution announced that it had closed its case with the admission of the record of Gummi's probe.
Justice Muktar in his ruling declared: "From the ordinary interpretation of Section 229 of Evidence Act, leave of court is only required for service of subpoena outside of jurisdiction. Subpoena can be served on the Chief Judge in accordance with Section 155(1) of Evidence Act because the Chief Judge is a competent and compellable witness."
Muktar, who had to stand down the session from 9.00 a.m. to 10.00 a.m. before he read his ruling, also agreed with Fawehinmi that no provision in any known law or statutes in Nigeria grants immunity from civil process on the FCT Chief Judge.
The judge also said that since all parties agreed that Gummi's report could be tendered from the Bar (by the lawyers in the case), he could not but admit it as exhibit.
Judge Muktar also said that the report would form a substantial segment of the substantive judgment at the end of the trial, having been admitted by consensus.
Ibori's lawyers, led by Chief Milton Paul Ohwovoriole (SAN), did not oppose the tendering of the report.
Ohwovoriole then asked for a brief adjournment to next week Tuesday and Wednesday so that Governor Ibori could begin his defence.
Gummi conducted the probe at the invitation of the Chief Justice of the Federation and Chairman of the National Judicial Council (NJC), Justice Muhammad Lawal Uwais, following a petition by Governor Ibori to President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Obasanjo, in compliance with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, sent the governor's petition to the NJC.
