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Before the curtain
falls
Senior Correspondent MALACHY
UZENDU writes that it is not surprising that every layer explored in the
Ibori’s case has become as complicated as a Gordian knot. He explains why.
JUSTICE
Husseini Mukhtar, judge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is currently in
the eye of the storm. Not because he is facing a National Judicial Council (NJC)
panel, nor is he under any form of probe. He is at the center of nation’s
political legal Gordian knot having been saddled with responsibility to
determine the fate of a serving governor, his stature suddenly rose to a
crescendo.
However, not many of his
colleagues in the Bench envy him. Not even Justice Baba Yusuf, who handled the
case before, would gladly embrace the same case file.
Even as complicated as the issue
involved turned out to be, Justice Mukhtar has exhibited intellect, wisdom and
candour in handling the matter. As far as he is concerned, the mandate given by
the Supreme Court that the true identity of the Chief James Onanefe Ibori,
convicted in 1995 by a Bwari Upper Area Court, be ascertained, must be logically
concluded. Though the personality at the center of the entire epic drama, Delta
State governor, Chief James Onanefe Ibori, who was put in a judicial cul de
sac by Messrs. Goodnews Goodman Agbi and Anthony Alabi, had maintained that
he is innocent of the allegation that he was convicted by the Bwari Court in
1995.
For nearly four months, Justice
Mukhtar had to face legal missiles thrown at him by the plaintiffs’ legal team
lead by Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN) and the defence led by the duo of Chief
Milton Paul Ohwovoriole (SAN) and Dr. Alex Izinyon (SAN). Throughout that
period, Mukhtar got more than a full dose of legal intellectualism, brickbats
and intrigues. He also had to contend with extremely volatile unemployed
"hooligans" imported into Abuja by parties on either side who believe
that rather than deploy their strength to positive features, such strength
should be destructively deployed.
In the period the prosecution and
defence made their submissions, hundreds of youth and their political godfathers
stormed the courtroom, literally sacking the lawyers from their hallowed Bars.
The youths, who proved they have no modicum of decency had at every of the court
sessions, defied all known laws existing in the courts. They clap, interject
counsels even when they are making their submission as well as engage in all
manner of unbecoming actions even when the court is in session. Three times,
they had broken the door leading into the court chambers, but the judge decided
to ignore them, preferring to look the other way. Even as these bunch of
indisciplined youths sacked lawyers from their hallowed bar, the judge, rather
than order them out of the bar, had always asked the court’s registrar to seek
alternative seats for the lawyers, most of who had to stand for the duration of
each court session.
Then on contentious issues in
which both Chiefs Fawehinmi and Ohwovoriole chose to throw brickbats at each
other, Justice Mukhtar chose to turn the entire verbal war to harmless humour.
What now remains of the counsels
hired to handle the matter is to put together all the information and legal
points raised in the course of trial into legal brief which they have been
ordered to defend on October 29, the next adjourned date.
During the trial and presentation
of evidence, three witnesses gave testimonies. They include Justice Husseini
Yusuf, the Upper Area Court, who claimed he had convicted the present-day Delta
State governor as Judge of the Bwari Court in 1995. There was also Mrs. Aisha
Abubakar, the Chief Registrar of the Abuja High Court, who stated that she took
custody of the Bwari Court documents on the orders of the Chief Judge of FCT,
Justice Mohammed Gunmi as a result of the probe on the Ibori matter. The third
principal witness, Barrister Bala Ngilari, who was a one-time lawyer to Governor
Ibori turned out to provide for the prosecution, the missing link they needed to
prove their claims that Governor Ibori actually begged Justice Yusuf to spare
him of the embarrasement and the allegation that he (Ibori) was convicted. Even
though Barrister Ngilari was invited to give evidence by Chief Ibori’s legal
team, his evidence turned out to provide much impetus for the prosecution, which
had all along claimed that Governor Ibori’s past records were dented.
Interestingly, Ibori’s legal
team have to rely on the police refusal to tender vital documents needed for the
defence, to prove that what the governor is facing may have been projected from
the Presidency. The police which was subpoenaed in the course of the trial to
produce their interim report dated February 14, 2003, adopted all manner of
arm-twisting strategy to disobey the court order. Even though the court accepted
the statements of Deputy Commissioner of Police (legal), Mr. Columbus Okaro,
that the Police interim Report could not be found, the final police report on
the Ibori’s matter was not exhibited.
The police decided to hide its
interim report because it was clear the interim report contradicted the final
police report, suggesting that there was an after-thought on the part of the
police to dig the embattled governor in.
As the curtain draws on the Ibori
matter, it should be emphasised that both the prosecution and defence counsels
kept the audience in suspense. When in July, few weeks before the courts
embarked on its annual vacation, Chief Fawehinmi chose the case against the
governor, the public were disappointed that they, being lay people, were unable
to discern the kernel upon which Gani intended to nail the governor. Apart from
the evidence of Justice Yusuf, who spoke more like one who had a score to settle
with Ibori, no discernible evidence was made available to convince the lay
people that it was the governor indeed who was convicted.
On the other hand, Chief
Ohwovoriole, having failed to get the police to tender the interim report which
clearly exonerated the governor from the allegation, equally took the public by
surprise when last Monday, he announced through Dr. Izinyon, that "the 4th
defendant (Ibori), has closed his case". Even as counsel for both sides
would on October 29, adopt their written address and probably expatiate on
salient areas, there has not been any nexus to link the plank upon which the
defense team intend to extricate their client.
What is left is for Justice Mukhtar to make the
pronouncement that will make or mar the liberty of the governor. If Ibori gets a
clean bill of health from the court, he would have made history as one who faced
such credibility crises and came off it clean. If on the other hand, he is
pronounced as the person convicted, it would only take upturning the verdict to
rescue Ibori from facing perjury charge, which would open a new visa in the
nation’s political figment.
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