Political Briefs
–
THE judge handling the case involving Olisa Metuh, national publicity secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on Thursday, March 17, said Metuh raised sundry accusations against him and asked him to withdraw from the case.
Justice Okon Abang of the federal high court, Abuja, said Emeka Etiaba, SAN, counsel to Metuh, wrote a petition to Justice Ibrahim Auta, chief judge, asking that the case should be assigned to another judge.
Abang disclosed this in the open court while considering an application by Ifedayo Adedipe, SAN, one of Metuh’s lawyers, asking for an adjournment due to the absence of Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, leader of the defence team, who was said to be on a trip to the University of Ilorin for an eye surgery.
Nevertheless, the judge said he would not be intimidated and would continue with the case as directed by the virtue of the circular of the National Judicial Council, NJC, and until the chief judge directed otherwise.
Besides, Abang said he never knew Metuh to be his classmate in the law school as claimed in the petition sent to the chief judge. “I don’t know the accused as my classmate. It is for him to prove that he was my classmate. Assuming the accused was my classmate; that will not change the facts of the case and the law,” he said.
He also denied the allegation that he deliberately held back the record of the proceedings of the trial from the defence team.
Metuh, in the March 11 letter, claimed to have been Justice Abang’s classmate at the law school and that they met a few weeks before the trial.
The PDP spokesman, who is on trial with Destra Investment Limited, his firm, on a seven-count of money laundering, accused the judge of bias and giving him no access to records, with the intention of denying him right to appeal.
The judge expressed surprise that Etiaba failed to give the prosecution a copy of his letter, as required under Rule 30 (5) of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners.
He said having refused to serve the prosecution with a copy, he, Etiaba, violated the rules of professional conduct for lawyers. Abang said by not serving the prosecution, Etiaba denied the prosecution the opportunity to react to issues raised in the letter.
Going through the history of the case, the judge noted that most adjournments were at the instance of the defence.
In any case, Abang said: “I do not take arbitrary decisions. Whatever decision I take here is in line with the law and my conscience. I fear no evil. I am guided by my conscience, without fear or favour.”
The case was later adjourned to March 23.
— Mar 28, 2016 @ 01:00 GMT
|
Tags:
