Judge to Metuh: I can’t disqualify myself from presiding over your trial

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Friday dismissed two applications brought by the National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olisa Metuh, who is standing trial over alleged receipt of N400 million, part of the money meant for the purchase of arms from former National Security Adviser (NSA), Colonel Sambo Dasuki (rtd)..
The two applications dismissed were the ones asking the judge to disqualify himself from further presiding over the trial and another one seeking an adjournment sine dine, pending when the appeal at the Court of Appeal will be heard.
Metuh had approached the Court of Appeal to challenge the ruling of the court which refused his no case submission.
After dismissing all the applications, Justice Abang adjourned till Monday for Metuh to open his defence.
The Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta, had on March 24 dismissed Metuh’s petition, asking for the transfer of the case from Justice Abang to another judge.
At yesterday’s proceedings, Justice Abang dismissed the application by Metuh for lacking merit after entertaining arguments in support of it by the PDP spokesperson’s lawyer, Emeka Etiaba (SAN), and against it by the counsel for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Sylvanus Tahir.
EFCC is prosecuting Metuh and his firm on seven counts of money laundering, including $2m cash transaction.
Part of the charges preferred against them also bordered on the N400m which the accused allegedly received fraudulently from the Office of the National Security Adviser in November, 2014.
The accused had earlier sent the petition against the judge and filed the application asking him to withdraw from the case after the prosecution closed its case with eight witness and they were called upon to open their defence.
Both the petition and the motion were based on allegation of bias levelled against the judge.
Justice Abang ruled that the allegation of bias against him was baseless.
“It is my considered view that the application lacks merit and it is hereby dismissed,” the judge ruled.
Metuh had premised his application seeking the disqualification of the judge on the allegation that the judge had been bias in the handling of the case.
The same allegation was part of the grounds in an earlier petition by Metuh’s counsel asking the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Auta, to withdraw the case from Justice Abang and reassign it to another judge.
The Chief Judge had, however, dismissed the petition on the grounds that it was too late in the day to reassign a case in which the prosecution had called its witnesses.
Justice Abang restated in his ruling on Friday that the there was no evidence adduced by Metuh’s counsel in support of the application asking him to withdraw from the case.
“The honourable Chief Judge has said he was satisfied with my explanation to the petition,” he ruled.