Justice Gabriel Kolawole, the trial judge in the suit brought by the Federal Government against the alleged sponsor of the Boko Haram sect, Sen. Aliyu Ndume, has threatened to dismiss charges against the accused due to the prosecutor’s continued requests for adjournments.
At the last hearing on 19 December 2011, Justice Kolawole had ordered an accelerated hearing and adjourned the matter to February in order to allow both sides prepare for trial.
The hearing was further stalled today when lead prosecutor, the Director of Public Prosecution, Mrs. Olufunmilayo Fatunde, who was absent from court.
Mrs. Fatunde sent a letter to the court, informing the court that her absence was due to a matter of national importance, asking that the case be adjourned until March. Co-prosecutor, Mr. C.I. Osagie, who delivered the letter, said the prosecution is seeking a short adjournment for the first week of March 2012.
The request for an adjournment displeased the trial judge who threatened to throw out the case.
In his ruling, Justice Kolawole accused that the government was quick to arraign suspects in high-profile cases, but slow to follow through in trial.
He said: “A trend one has noticed from the bench is that the state is always so anxious, perhaps too nervous, to arraign accused persons in high profile criminal cases such as this with a lot of media blitz, but when it gets to the nitty gritty of the real trial, the excitement and eagerness wanes.”
Justice Kolawole warned that further requests for “needless and avoidable” adjournments will no longer be tolerated. He adjourned the matter to March 21 and 28, and April 10, 2012 for definite trial.
He asked the State to bear in mind that the matter is of national interest and should not cause any delay.
