BREAKING NEWS, Judiciary
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JUSTICE Abdul Kafarati of the federal high court, Abuja, on Tuesday, March 22, withdrew from a fundamental rights suit filed by Bukola Saraki, Senate president, to crush the charges of false declaration of assets brought against him by the federal government at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT.
Kafarati said that his integrity had been called into question in the matter, thus his decision to disqualify himself from the case. The judge said his decision came on the heels of a report on an online publication accusing him of corruption to the tune N2bn.
Kafarati said if he should rule against or for Saraki his decision would be interpreted differently. He said what the publication had done was to put his integrity to question.
“They also alleged that I am known in the legal cycle for being susceptible to corruption. What this has done is to put my integrity to question and they know that what they said is not true. They just derive pleasure when they malign the integrity of a judicial office.
“It is unfortunate that we don’t have the appropriate laws to take care of this. As it stands, I am caught between two devils, if the judgment goes in favour of Saraki now they will say that I have been compromised, on the other hand, if it goes against him they will say I have been intimidated. “In light of the allegation, the right and appropriate thing to do is to disqualify myself and return the case-file to the chief judge for re-assignment to another Judge.
“It is only in this country that people can wake up and start calling people names.
“In the circumstance, I disqualify myself from this case. I will hereby send the case file to the chief judge for re-assignment to another judge,” Kafarati said.
The judge had fixed Tuesday, March 22, for judgment on Saraki’s suit but used the occasion to announce his withdrawal from the case altogether.
— Mar 22, 2016 @ 17:00 GMT
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