Court to hear Dariye’s motion seeking to disqualify judge on March 2nd
An FCT High Court has adjourned till March 2, hearing on two motions filed by former Plateau state governor, Joshua Dariye, accusing the trial judge of ‘Manifest and Undisguised Bias’ in the N1.162 billion fraud suit filed against him. Dariye is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly diverting […]
Dariye to submit senatorial nomination form tomorrow – Plateau APC
An FCT High Court has adjourned till March 2, hearing on two motions filed by former Plateau state governor, Joshua Dariye, accusing the trial judge of ‘Manifest and Undisguised Bias’ in the N1.162 billion fraud suit filed against him.
Dariye is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly diverting about N1.162 billion from the state’s Ecological Fund to private companies and individuals.
One of the motions filed by Dariye on Dec. 6, 2016 is for the prosecution to recall two of its witnesses which includes the first and the ninth prosecution witnesses for the purpose of re-examination.
The first prosecution witness is the EFCC Investigation Police Officer (IPO), Mr Musa Sunday; while the ninth prosecution witness is the witness from the United Kingdom, Mr. Peter Clark.
The second motion was filed on Dec.13, 2016 and it is seeking for the trial judge, Justice Adebukola Banjoko to disqualify herself from further proceedings.
The motion also sought for the case to be transferred to the Chief Judge of the FCT for re-assignment to another court. In the letter, addressed to the FCT Chief Judge, Dariye accused the judge of “manifest and undisguised bias,’’ among other accusations.
A source familiar with the trial told this reporter that the Chief Judge has already dismissed the petition against the trial judge. The CJ is said to have given go-ahead to the trial judge to continue hearing the matter. However, Dariye’s counsel yesterday insisted that the motion has not been withdrawn despite this development.
At the resumed hearing yesterday, prosecution counsel Barrister Leke Atolagbe informed the court the prosecution had on February 13 filed replies to the two motions.
Justice Banjoko thereafter adjourned the matter to give room for the defense to study the replies and adopt the motions.