Lagos to reply Al-Mustapha's plea for judge's withdrawal
By Mustapha Ogunsakin and Emmanuel Badejo
L AGOS State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, will today argue whether Justice Joseph Olubunmi Oyewole of an Ikeja High Court could continue with the trial of former Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Ishaya Bamaiyi (rtd) and others n the attempted murder of The Guardian Publisher, Mr. Alex Ibru.
Other accused persons are erstwhile Chief Security Officer to late Gen. Sani Abacha, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, former Zamfara State Military Administrator Jubril Bala Yakubu, one-time Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Mr. James Danbaba and Chief Superintendent of Police, Mohammed Rabo Lawal.
Osinbajo's argument is prompted by an allegation of likelihood of bias by Al-Mustapha against the new trial judge, Oyewole.
If the application succeeds, Oyewole would become the second judge to withdraw from the suit since it commenced in 1999.
In September last year, Justice Augustine Ade-Alabi, now the Chief Judge of Lagos, withdrew from the case after he was cleared by the National Judicial Council (NJC) of bribery allegation levelled against him by the accused persons.
Then Chief Judge of the state, Justice Ibitola Sotunminu, re-assigned the matter to the current trial judge, who Al-Mustapha has accused of the likelihood of bias and asked him to withdraw.
At yesterday's proceedings, Mr. Olalekan Ojo, Al-Mustapha's counsel, told the court that the motion was brought on the ground of likelihood of bias by the judge.
He said that should the court continue with the matter without granting his request to decline adjudication, it would amount to breach of fair hearing of his client.
The lawyer added that from the evidence before the court, Justice Oyewole is seen to be in partnership with the state, saying this amounted to partiality, which he defined as "antagonising one party in favour of another".
Ojo also challenged the correctness of court records he filed as affidavit.
He said that he had equally served the registrar of the court, who has not replied, a silence he claimed was tantamount to admission of the allegation brought against the judge.
The application he argued relates to the protection and observance of the constitutional right of the third accused person, and indeed all the accused persons, to fair hearing as guaranteed by Section 36(1) of 1999 Constitution.
He, therefore, urged the court to resume its earlier decision of not being able to decide whether it has jurisdiction or not.
In his earlier decision, Oyewole had directed that if Al-Mustapha wanted a change of judge, he should write to the chief judge.
Ojo contended that it would be unthinkable for his client to do so, saying that the transfer of one case to another judge in the same court was solely the administrative right of the chief judge, which cannot be appealed.
While urging the judge to discountenance what he thinks about himself of whether he is being fair or not, Ojo told the court to bring to mind what the public thinks about it, adding that the accused persons were in doubt of the partiality of the judge to administer justice in the case.
Messrs J.O. Odubela, and I Ikegbulem, counsel to Bamaiyi and Bala Yakubu, shared Ojo's view.
The trial lasted for four hours.
Justice Oyewole adjourned till today for Osinbajo to reply.
