Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has reiterated his call for
the sack of controversial Federal High Court Judge, Okon Abang, saying
“Justice Abang has polluted the judiciary enough and the National
Judicial Council (NJC) must save the judiciary from what has now
become the Abang’s embarrassment by showing him the way out of the
bench.”
In a statement issued on Thursday, by his Special Assistant on Public
Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose said;
“Specifically, on August 18, 2016, five Appeal Court justices in their
judgment in the case of Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu Vs. Samson
Ogah, said Justice Abang committed a rape on democracy!”
He said Justice Morenike Ogunwumiju, who delivered the lead judgment
in Okezie Vs. Ogah went further to say that Justice Abang “committed
grave violence against one of the pillars of justice” relating to fair
hearing, turned the head of the law upside down in his conclusion that
it was the appellant that should bear the burden of proof, embarked on
a wild goose chase and that he spoke from both sides of his mouth.
The governor said; “It is also on record that a three-member panel of
Appeal Court judges led by Justice Ibrahim Salauwa said the judgement
delivered by Justice Abang on October 14, 2016 was as ‘fraudulent as
it was violent’ and that the judge acted like Father Christmas.
“How can a judge like Abang that has been adjudged severally as giving
fraudulent judgments and acting like Father Christmas still sit in
judgment over cases involving Nigerians?
“With Abang still in the judiciary, it should further be clear to all
Nigerians that President Muhammadu Buhari’s All Progressives Congress
(APC) government is not interested in sanitising the judiciary but
only out to persecute unfriendly judges who are not doing its
bidding.”
Speaking further, Governor Fayose said; “For the record, Justice Abang
is not new to abuse of court process. On many occasions, he sat on
appeal on judgments delivered by similar courts of concurrent
jurisdiction.
“For instance, on September 22, 2014, he appointed the law firm of
Olisa Agbakoba as the receiver/manager on behalf of the Asset
Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) over Bi-Courtney assets,
despite the subsisting order of Justice Mohammed Liman (also of the
Federal High Court) delivered on November 4, 2011, restraining the
federal government and its agencies from taking any steps to takeover
Bi-Courtney Group.
“Also, Justice Abang elevated his court to an Appeal Court status by
sitting on appeal on a judgment delivered on the PDP leadership tussle
by a similar court of concurrent jurisdiction presided over by Justice
Abdullahi Liman of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt.
“No doubt, Justice Abang is reputed for controversial orders, rulings
and pronouncements to the extent that even some detainees of the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had fingered him as
one of judges being used by the commission to secure long detention
orders against perceived enemies of President Muhammadu Buhari’s
government.
“Perhaps, it is for the reason of him (Abang) being available for use
against perceived enemies of President Buhari and his government that
he is still being kept in the judiciary despite his many controversial
and embarrassing orders.
“For example, the usual practice is that when a party in case notices
bias by a judge, he/she petitions the Chief Judge of the court to
complain and possibly appeals that the judge be changed. But Justice
Abang is noted for stubbornly holding on to cases that he has vested
interests in even when parties in such cases raise notices of
likelihood of bias.
“In the alleged corruption trial of Olisa Metuh, Abang was accused of
bias and being Metuh’s classmate at the Nigerian Law School between
1987 and 1988, he (Abang) refused to hands off the case like other
judges would have done.
“In my opinion, Judges who give fraudulent judgments are even more
dangerous than armed robbers and one will be right to say that those
running after judges for alleged corruption and excluding a judge like
Abang may not be far from being the beneficiaries of his (Abang)
fraudulent judgments.
“Therefore, like I have said before, the judiciary, being the last
hope of the common man must be purged of elements like Abang and NJC
must do the needful by sacking him forthwith so that the bench can
have a new lease of life.”
