Former Orient Petroleum MD wants Judge to hands off trial

THE Federal High Court sitting in Awka, Anambra state capital and presided over by Justice Bature Gafai has reserved ruling for Tuesday, June 19, this year in an application to disqualify himself and transfer a money laundering charge to another court filed by the former Managing Director of Orient Petroleum Resources Limited, Nnaemeka Nwawka and two other defendants, Jude Cyril Anakwe and Agbaim Nwachukwu.

Justice Gafai fixed the date shortly after hearing from both the counsel to the applicants, Udechukwu Nnoruka Udechukwu (SAN) and his prosecution counterpart, H.O Anasor.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC had dragged the trio to the court in Charge No. FHC/AWK/C92/2017, accusing them of laundering a substantial amount of money.

But in the application asking Justice Gafai to disqualify himself from continuing with the trial of the charge,so that it could be transferred to another Judge, Udechukwu (SAN) accused Gafai of bias on the ground that one Chief Cletus Ibeto has consistently boasted that no amount of argument put forward in the Court by the defendants/applicants, could stop him (Gafai) from sending them to prison, to Ibeto’s delight.

Enumerating further grounds of argument, to buttress his points, the Senior Advocate insisted that Gafai should excuse himself from the trial and cause the case to be transferred to another Judge to handle because according to him, “by reason of a concatenation of facts and events of which he is aware, he would not get justice in this Honourable Court as far as this particular case is concerned, more so when the charge against Nwawka was based on two separate petitions written against him, by Ibeto to the EFCC”.

Udechukwu disclosed that the defendants and himself have been warned from several quarters to be wary of Ibeto whom he said they have a substantial proof both on the internet and the news media, that boasted that he has the capability to deliver on his boasts.

He contended that Ibeto himself had equally shown the defendants the charge sheet when it was just was numbered and indicated to be filed at the Federal High Court Awka before the formal filing, adding that they equally saw same in Abuja even before it was formally filed in Court”.

He tendered an affidavit in support of the application showing Premium Times Newspaper report which is Exhibit 3 in the case that linked one Joseph Nwobike, convicted by Federal High Court Lagos for trying to bribe Judges with Ibeto.

He noted that part of the publication in the affidavit in support of the application read in part: “Mr Nwobike was also said to have sent a text to one Ibeto on December 15, 2014, around 8.32 am, saying “Good morning sir, I am planning to go to Port-Harcourt tomorrow to sort out those judges”.

Continuing the SAN said: “the applicants or defendants are fortified in their fears that they have other on-going cases with Ibeto pending before this Honourable Court and at every stage of those cases, Ibeto’s predictions of the outcome had been completely right, be it by happenstance or design”.

He also contended among other grounds that the applicant was convinced that if the Honourable Court goes ahead to try his clients in this matter, and eventually convicts them, he would have been convicted according to Ibeto ‘s boasts and design, rather than according to the dictates of Justice, adding, “In that event, the applicant would remain of the view that justice had been miscarried”.

He, therefore, urged the Court to hands off and allow the substantive matter to be transferred to another court so that another Judge will try it in accordance with Section 22(1) of the Federal High Court Act, saying “this will be in line with Judicial dignity and self-restraint”.

However, the prosecuting counsel, Anasor, vehemently opposed the application, arguing that although the defendants claimed that this was not a case where the Honourable Court was accused of bias but it was clear that the Court was being accused of bias towards the defendants.

Citing relevant authorities in his opposition to the application, the prosecuting counsel contended that there were no cogent facts to entitle the Judge to disqualify himself from the matter, and thereby urged the Court to dismiss the application for lack of cogent facts and accordingly, proceed with the trial of the case.