$500,000 bribery: CJ returns Farouk Lawan’s Case for Continuation of Trial
The Chief Judge of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Justice Ishaq Bello, has returned the bribery case against a former member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Farouk Lawan, to Justice Angela Otaluka, who had heard the case almost half-way before it was abruptly transferred to another judge last year.
Justice Bello had, on the basis of a petition authored by Lawan, an ex-Chairman of the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on investigation into fuel subsidy regime in 2012, transferred the case from Justice Otaluka, who is of the Lugbe Division of the FCT High Court, to Justice Yusuf Halilu of the Jabi Division.
The return of the case to Justice Otaluka was confirmed when the matter came up before her on Monday.
The Federal Government, through the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, is prosecuting Lawan on amended four counts of corrupt collection of $500,000 out of the $3m bribe he allegedly requested from the Chairman of Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd., Mr. Femi Otedola.
Lawan was accused of accepting $500,000 as bribe for the removal of Otedola’s company’s name, Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd., from the list of firms indicted by the Lawan-led House committee for allegedly abusing the fuel subsidy regime in 2012.
The prosecution had called four out of its five proposed witnesses when the case was abruptly transferred from Justice Otaluka to Justice Halilu in June 2017.
But the lead prosecuting counsel, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), had, though a motion filed before Justice Halilu, challenged the transfer of the case, describing the Chief Judge’s action as illegal.
Justice Halilu, in a ruling delivered on October 17, 2017, dismissed the Federal Government’s application for the return of the case to the former trial judge.
It had been reported that the prosecution had filed a notice of appeal hinged on three grounds and subsequently an appellant’s brief against Justice Halilu’s ruling.
Awomolo contended in the appeal that the transfer of the part-heard case, which was nearing conclusion before Justice Otaluka, to Justice Halilu, was not only wrong but illegal.
He argued that the Chief Judge acted without jurisdiction and in contravention of the provisions of Section 98(2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act.
But before the Federal Government’s appeal could be heard, the Chief Judge returned the case to Justice Otaluka for continuation of trial.
The prosecution, represented by Mrs. Victoria Awomolo (SAN), on Monday, informed Justice Otaluka that they only got the hearing notice for the day’s proceedings last Thursday.
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