High Court Judge presiding over Saraki objection case withdraws

Justice Ahmed Mohammed of an Abuja Federal High Court, Wednesday, ruled himself out of the case presently in his court brought by the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, challenging charges preferred against him by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB).

Justice Mohammed has also ordered that the case be remitted to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court for re-assignment to another judge, in, according to him, ‘the interest of justice’.

Saraki had on September 17 approached the court through an ex parte application seeking to halt his arraignment before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) in Abuja on 13-count charges of false declaration of assets.

Justice Mohammed in his ruling ordered counsels to Saraki, Joseph Daudu (SAN) and Mahmud Magaji (SAN) to serve notice of hearing on the Ministry of Justice, CCB, CCT, and Muslim Hassan- a principal prosecutor in the Ministry of Justice, to appear on September 21 to show cause why the application should not be granted.

It would be recalled that Justice Mohammed had earlier expressed anger at subsequent media reports which claimed that he had granted the application to stop the trial and have unsuccessfully tried to stop the senate president’s trial at the CCT on the basis of compromise.

“While it is not my intention to join issues with the authors of the said publication, but I strongly feel that the records should be set straight.

“In the first instance, I have never made any restraining order against any of the defendants and in particular, the Code of Conduct Tribunal vide a Motion Ex parte or any Motion at all.

“Those who are conversant with the workings of this Court knows it is not in the habit of granting restraining orders to stop public institutions from carrying out their statutory duties,” he said.