Why Justice Ademola can’t sit on cases – FG

The Federal Government has filed seven additional grounds of appeal to challenge the judgment that exonerated Justice Adeniyi Francis Adetokunbo Ademola.

The record of the appeal was settled yesterday by the prosecution at the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal.

This is coming against the background that the presidency has insisted that the Judge should not sit until the pending appeal was heard and determined.

The NJC had recalled the  six judges who were arrested by the DSS and paraded as corrupt.

Chief Okoi Obono Obla, Special adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on prosecution in a telephone chat with Daily Trust yesterday

mentioned that the National Judicial Council (NJC) was in a hurry to clear judges whose integrity were in question, adding that there are still several petitions against Ademola including the one filed by Chris Uba.

“It is wrong for a judge to be under criminal investigation because a Judge should be above board. He should not sit until his appeal is heard and determined”, Obla said.

The 63 year-old serving Judge of the federal High Court- Justice Ademola and his wife Mrs. Olabowale Toluwatope Ademola age 59 year were slammed with a 15 count criminal charge over alleged corruption.

Following the charges, Ademola and other Judges including serving justices of the Supreme Court, who were alleged to be corrupt were suspended from sitting in court by the National Judicia\l Council (NJC) but Ademola and other judges including Justice Okoro Inyang of the Supreme Court were over the weekend recalled.

Ademola was recalled based on the April 5, 2017 high court verdict but two days later ( April 7), the federal government filed an appeal challenging the judgment on seven grounds of appeal.

Ademola had through his lawyers filed a no case submission which was upheld by the trial judge, Justice Jude Okeke of the FCT high Court.

The Court in the judgment that lasted four hours said that all the money recovered from Ademola’s house during the raid on the judge’s house were all Ademola’s legitimate earning.

The prosecution said that the Judge erred in law when he went into the merit of the case and cleared the defendants on each count.

In the seven additional grounds of appeal, the prosecution said that Justice Jude Okeke’s ruling cannot be supported by the weight of evidence and prosecution intends to file further grounds of appeal.

The prosecution said further that the trial judge erred when he held that the offence of giving and receiving gratification was not made out by the prosecution against the defendants despite the over-whelming evidence, exhibits and testimonies of the prosecution witnesses laid before the court.

In another ground of appeal, the prosecution mentioned that the total amount of monies (estacodes) paid to Ademola as a judge of the Federal High Court to attend seminars and conferences in 2015 was $6, 300 dollars but the amount discovered in his house was $121, 297 dollars.

According to the prosecution, the trial judge relied on extraneous materials and facts within his personal knowledge in upholding the no-case submission, when he knows that it is not part of the duties of a judge to engage in speculation not borne out of evidence adduced during trial.

Ademola was alleged to have been in illegal possession of firearms and ammunitions without valid license.

He was alleged to have received N30, 000, 000 from Messrs Joe Odey Agi Associates  between 11 th and 26 th March 2015 and another N40 million between 20 th and 21 February 2014.

According to the prosecution, Justice Adeniyi Ademola on 6th May 2013 received $520, 000:00 from Messrs Johnson & Johnson Solicitors and another N6 million between 25 th of February  and 16 th April 2015 from Messrs Johnson & Johnson Solicitors.

Justice Adeniyi Ademola was alleged to have accepted N55, 650, 000:00 from Messrs G.T. J Ademola & Co between 5 th January and 23 rd June 2016.

It was further alleged that Justice Adeniyi Ademola on 20th February 2014 accepted N40, 000, 000: 00 from Vertice Solutions Ltd as well as accepting another N47, 600, 000: 00 from Acardian Energy Services Ltd.

Justice Adeniyi Ademola was one of the serving Judges who was arrested on 8th October, 2016 by the Department of State Services (DSS).

Six reinstated judges to be arraigned – FG

The Presidency has said six suspended judges for alleged corruption but reinstated last week by the National Judicial Council will be charged to court soon.

The Special Adviser to the President on Prosecutions, Okoi Obono-Obla, stated this during a live television programme on Channels TV on Monday.

The Presidency was disappointed with the NJC, Obla said, adding that the council was indirectly promoting corruption by reinstating them.

He said the council was aware the EFCC was planning to arraign the judges but “surreptitiously reinstated them”.

The Presidential aide advised the suspended judges not to resume as they would soon be arraigned.

“The NJC will just have to suspend them again. The judges should be stopped from sitting from today because they will soon be charged to court; I can assure you,” he said.

Obono-Obla added, “An appeal is not tantamount to a stay of execution but we are talking of a judge’s integrity; the reputation of the judge, the credibility of the judiciary. This is a judge whose credibility is at stake.

“If I were that judge, I would not sit until the appeal is heard because members of the public will not have confidence in his court and the judicial system relies on the confidence of the people.”

The Judges reinstated  are John Okoro (Supreme Court);  Uwani Abba Aji (Court of Appeal); Hydiazira Nganjiwa (Federal High Court); Justice Adeniyi Ademola (Federal High Court), who has been discharged and acquitted; Justice Musa Kurya (Federal High Court); and Justice Agbadu Fishim (National Industrial Court of Nigeria).