A Federal High Court judge sitting in Lagos has recused himself from dealing with the N1.4bn tax evasion charge favored against the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr Paul Usoro.
At the resumption procedures on Thursday, Justice Chuka Obiozor stated, “For individual reasons, I therefore preclude myself from dealing with the case, I thus return this case document back to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court for reassignment to another judge.”
The NBA President was planned to be re-charged before Justice Obiozor on Thursday after the case was re-appointed to the judge in January.
This pursued a demand by the NBA President allowed by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Adamu Abdu-Kafarati, for a difference in judge.
On December 18, 2018, a previous President of the Bar and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Wole Olanipekun, who drove Mr Usoro’s guard group had attracted the court’s thoughtfulness regarding a letter composed by his customer to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, looking for the exchange of the case from Justice Muslim Hassan, to another judge in Lagos or to any legal division among Uyo and Abuja.
The NBA President is being indicted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on 10 tallies verging on extortion.
He was affirmed to have schemed with some others to change over the whole of N1.4 billion, property of Akwa Ibom State Government, which entirety they sensibly should have known framed piece of the returns of unlawful action.
The offense was supposedly dedicated in May 2016.
The commission additionally asserted that Usoro plotted with others, to submit the offense inside the ward of the court.
Additionally named in the charge is the occupant legislative head of Akwa Ibom, Mr Emmanuel Udom, who is portrayed in the charge as being “at present unavoidably resistant from indictment”.