Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja has recused himself from the ₦10.2 billion money-laundering trial of Ali Bello and Dauda Sulaiman, directing that the case be returned to the Chief Judge for reassignment.
Ali Bello, Chief of Staff to Kogi State Governor Usman Ododo, and Sulaiman are being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on a 10-count charge arising from alleged diversion of Kogi State Government funds.
The defendants have denied wrongdoing.
Justice Omotosho’s withdrawal followed an extraordinary controversy surrounding Exhibit N, a mobile telephone admitted during the proceedings and said to contain WhatsApp communications relating to transactions forming part of the prosecution’s case.
According to the judge, court registrar Nasir Zubairu Onimisi approached him in February and admitted interfering with the exhibit.
Justice Omotosho said the registrar alleged that he had been promised a house in Abuja by the second defendant in connection with the interference.
The judge subsequently disclosed the matter in open court, where the phone was examined and alterations were discovered, according to his account.
Security agencies were directed to investigate.
At the latest proceedings, EFCC counsel informed the court that he understood that the Department of State Services had completed an investigation and forwarded its report to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, although he said he was unaware of the outcome.
The EFCC had already called 17 witnesses and closed its case, while the defendants had filed no-case submissions asking the court to hold that the prosecution had failed to establish sufficient evidence requiring them to enter a defence.
Justice Omotosho said the controversy surrounding the exhibit placed him in a difficult judicial position: discounting the evidence might be interpreted as minimising the alleged interference, while relying heavily on it could equally generate perceptions that the incident had influenced his decision.
He therefore withdrew in order to preserve the appearance and reality of impartial justice.
The recusal does not determine the guilt of the defendants or resolve the allegation of evidence tampering. Those matters remain subject to appropriate investigation and judicial determination.
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