Harbursandport.com: Lagos - Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court,
Abuja, on Monday, rescued himself from a suit brought by Omoyele Sowore, Convener,
#RevokutionNow, currently before him.
Mohammed made this known to parties at the mention
of the motion ex-parte with suit number: FHC/ABJ/CS/1409/19 filed by Sowore,
the publisher of Sahara Reporters, to challenge his continued detention by the
Department of State Service (DSS).
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports
that while Sowore is the applicant, the Director-General of DSS and the Attorney
General of the Federation (AGF) are 1st and 2nd defendants in this matter.
The judge told counsel representing parties in the
case that he decided to withdraw from the matter because of Sahara Reporters, an
online media had in 2016 and 2019 accused him of collecting bribe in a case
between the Federal Government and Gabriel Suswam, former Benue Governor and
current senator representing the state at the National Assembly.
Mohammed, who sought the opinions of the lawyers,
said in the interest of justice, it would be better for him to recuse himself.
The judge then stood down the case for few minutes.
“I have an issue with this matter. I want you,
counsel, to look at it before we come back. I want to have your opinions.
“When the registrar of this court called me and
informed me that I will be handling this matter, I asked if the chief judge was
around and I was told he travelled for Christmas.
“Inside me, my conscience is telling me I should
not take this matter subject to what people will say and what you will think.
“This applicant is a publisher of Sahara Reporter.
Sometimes in 2016, he accused me of taking money for a matter to compromise the
course of justice and I returned the case file but it was returned back to me
that it would not be reassigned.
“Again this year, around June, the same applicant
accused me of taking money again on the same case and I had to hands-off again.
“Then the case was reassigned to Justice Abang.
“In all honesty, will it be fair for me to sit on
this matter concerning the publisher?” he asked.
Mohammed, who said parties’ confidence was
paramount in a matter, said: “justice is a fair trial.”
“What if in a way my order seems not to be
favourable, I will be seen as being paid for, or when the proceeding is even
going on, the applicant himself will be apprehensive what judgment will this
judge gives,” he added.
Earlier on Monday, Sowore’s lawyer, Femi Falana,
SAN, who said he was ready for the matter, had informed the court that they
filed an application of enforcement of the applicant’s fundamental human right
dated Nov 15.
Godwin Agbadua, counsel to the DSS, told the court
that he got to know about the proceeding through the media.
“I leant the 1st responding, DSS DG, was summoned
to be in court today.
“We are today in court because of the high respect
we have for the court.
“We are unaware that the applicant has filed
several processes against the 1st respondent but what we are not aware of is
the process before this court that brought us here today.
“In this
regard, we will be relying solely on the court guidance for this application
because we have not been served with the summon directing 1st respondent to
appear today,” he said.
On his part, the AGF lawyer, Abdullahi Abubakar,
told the court that the AGF had filed his processes earlier dated Dec. 5.
“We also filed a motion, we filed further and
better affidavit in response to the counter affidavit and notice of hearing of
the motion on Dec. 19,” he said.
Abubakar hinted that though a preliminary objection
had been filed, he would need time to regularise this.
Falana, however, objected to Abubakar’s submission
of asking for more time.
He said he was surprised that Agbadua said he read
about the case proceeding through the media.
“My learned friend met us this morning and he did
not ask why we were here,” he said.
Falana told the court that Agbadua wouldn’t have
moved for an adjournment of the matter because he never said he was not ready for
the case.
Agbadua, however, said he had not been served with
processes.
“Someone whose matter is to be determined by the court
ought to be informed that this matter is to be determined.
“Where there is no service of processes, including
hearing notice, whatever that is done as to the matter in connection with such the party will be a nullity,” he had argued.
On his part, Falana insisted that Agbadua had been
served with all the processes.
“He has been served. My learned friend has all the
processes,” he said.
Justice Mohammed,
who decided to afford all the parties to take a look at the processes in court
file, also read out the letters sent to the DSS and office of the AGF by Deputy
Registrar, Litigation, informing them of the proceeding, and delivered by the
bailiff on Dec. 19 to both offices.
Judge, who was unhappy with Agbadua’s comment,
later stood down the case for the parties to regularise all the processes and
to seek their opinions on his decision to withdraw from the case.
When the court reconvened, Falana said though he
had no course to doubt the judge, it was better in the interest of justice for
Justice Mohammed to recuse himself from the matter.
“I am flabbergasted by this. Although I am not
aware of this publication, My Lord, as you raised this matter, my mind went to
a case of Late Chief M.K.O. Abiola Vs FGN in 1995 where a Supreme Court
disqualified eight justices from hearing any of the appeal arising from
Abiola’s case on the ground that the Concord Newspaper of which Abiola was the publisher had written a story concerning the eight justices which had led to
the institution of libel suit against the newspaper.
“It was a unanimous decision of the apex court that
the justice of the case requires that the justices should recuse themselves.
“As My Lord has rightly noted, justice must not
only be done but must have been seen to have been done.
“In view of this, we are of the view that this case
is sent back to the chief judge for reassignment.
“Also my Lord, this is a case in which the
integrity of this honourable court has been questioned by armed invasion of the
court which occurred on Dec 6, 2019,” he said.
On his part, the DSS lawyer, Agbadua, said in order
for the public not to misconstrued the position of the security outfit, it
would be better not to make a comment on the judge’s decision.
“The learned SAN has said it all. Most importantly
the agency I represent has been in the media over this matter.
“For that singular reason, I will not state a
position on whether or not My Lord can hear it because it could be misconstrued
to be in form of the agency trying to delay the hearing,” he said.
However, the AGF lawyer, Abubakar, did not oppose
the judge’s decision.
Justice Mohammed, who then recused himself from the
suit ordered that the case file be transferred to the Chief Judge of the
Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, for reassignment.
NAN reports that Justice Inyang Ekwo had, on Dec.
17, fixed today, Dec. 23 to hear from the DSS and AGF why Sowore should not be
released from custody.
Sowore, through his lawyer, Falana, had filed a
motion ex-parte before Justice Ekwo to demand for his unconditional release
from the DSS detention in pursuance of the release order made by Justice Ijeoma
Ojukwu on Nov. 6.
He said his continued detention regardless of the
release order made by the court on Nov. 6 was “unlawful, unconstitutional, null
and void.”
NAN reports that the operatives of the DSS had
rearrested Sowore shortly after a court proceeding at the Federal High Court in
Abuja on Dec. 6, barely 24 hours of releasing him and his co-defendant, Olawale
Bakare, from custody.
Justice Ojukwu had fixed Feb. 11, 2020, as next
adjourned date.
However, Abubakar Malami, SAN, the AGF and Minister
of Justice, had, on Dec. 13, announced his takeover of the prosecution of
Sowore in the charge of treasonable felony levied against him.
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