… As Judge rejects recusal
Former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has suffered a major legal setback as the Special Offences Court in Lagos dismissed his attempt to halt his corruption trial.
In a decisive ruling on Wednesday, Justice Rahman Oshodi rejected Emefiele’s request for him to recuse himself from the case, stating that the claims of judicial bias were unsubstantiated and lacked merit.
Emefiele’s legal team, led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Olalekan Ojo, alongside the counsel for his co-defendant, Kazeem Gbadamosi (SAN), had argued on Monday that the judge’s earlier decision to allow the prosecution to ask a leading question had compromised their ability to cross-examine a key witness fairly.
They insisted that this amounted to bias and called for the judge to step aside. However, the prosecution, represented by Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), pushed back against the claim, stating that the request had no legal basis and was a deliberate ploy to stall the trial.
Justice Oshodi, in his ruling, referenced a 2013 judgment by Chief Justice of Nigeria, Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, which established that judicial bias must be personal or stem from extrajudicial factors to justify a judge’s removal from a case.
He also cited Supreme Court precedents, emphasizing that mere dissatisfaction with a judge’s decision does not amount to bias.
Declaring that the defense had failed to present any credible evidence to support their claim, the judge ruled that the application for recusal was baseless.
“Applying the foregoing principles to the circumstances of this case, the allegation of bias has not been substantiated.
“Accordingly, the first and second defendants’ recusal application is refused. This is the ruling of the court,” he stated.
With this decision, the corruption trial against Emefiele will continue as scheduled, marking a significant blow to his legal team’s strategy.
The former CBN governor, who has been facing intense scrutiny over allegations of financial misconduct during his tenure, now finds himself with fewer options to delay the proceedings.
Legal analysts suggest that this ruling signals the court’s determination to press forward with the case, potentially accelerating the timeline for the trial.
Meanwhile, the prosecution is expected to continue presenting its case, with more witnesses likely to be called in the coming weeks.
As the legal battle intensifies, all eyes remain in the courtroom, where the high-profile trial of the former central bank chief is set to unfold.
