MKO Abiola: My reply to then CJ of Federal High court, Justice Babatunde Belgore, by Richard Akinnola

Dr Doyin Abiola’s passing three days ago got me to revisit this issue. She gave me a free hand to operate my law Columns in National Concord and Sunday Concord, with the support of Dele Alake and Tunji Bello, both Editors of Daily and Sunday. This is a recap of an incident regarding Abiola’s trial as captured in my law column then in Concord.

Following the article I wrote in the Sunday Concord regarding how Chief MKO Abiola was hurriedly arraigned at the Federal High Court, Abuja when there was no Abuja judicial division of the court , the then Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Babatunde Belgore, sent in a rejoinder.

In the rejoinder, signed by the Chief Registrar of the court, the Chief Judge tried to discredit my position. However, while I published his rejoinder, I equally simultaneously punctured his arguments with incontrovertible facts. For ease of reference, my comments followed the issues.

CHIEF REGISTRAR: “But as a fact, from 1st Jarnuary, 1994, the Chief Judge, acting under his power in accordance with the provisions of section 19 of the Federal High Court Act, created three new Divisions of Abuja Division, Kaduna Division and Borno Division”.

MY COMMENTS:

This is false. There was no Abuja Division of the Federal High Court in January 1994. The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court was created on June 29, 1994 by the Chief Judge himself, Justice Babatunde Belgore in the Federal Republic of Nigeria Extra-ordinary Gazzette No. 7 vol. 81 under S.1.4 at page B59 and with the commencement date put at July 1, 1994. This was a subsidiary instrument signed by the Chief Judge himself. This Gazette was passed and later made public after the commencement of Bashorun Abiola’s trial in Abuja on July 14, 1994. The instrument was backdated to have commencement date of July 1, 1994 to legalise the trial.

In this notice, which was done pursuant to the Federal High Court Act 1973, made provisions for 16 judicial divisions in the country, instead of the previous 12 divisions made in 1990 by the Chief Judge Belgore.

For ease of reference, let me refer to subsidiary instrument 5 of 1990, signed by the Chief Judge himself while creating 12 Divisions of the Federal High Court. With the Instrument, it shows that the Chief Registrar is only being economical with truth.

CHIEF REGISTRAR: “It is not true that there no resident judge covering Abuja during the period, January 1994 and to till the present date; which covers the relevant period of the subject matter Mr. Akinnola was writing about.”

MY COMMENTS:

Since there was no Abuja Division of the Federal High Court (as I stated earlier), there could not have been any judge for the Division. If it were to be true that there was a resident judge before Abiola’s trial, how come Justice Abduallahi Mustapha, who was the first judge assigned to the case, imported from Benin Division? How come Abiola’s case was the first case in the Abuja Division? His case is charge no FHC/A/C/1/1994. Does it mean the ghost judge that was sitting in Abuja was not hearing any case all these while since Abiola’s was the first and it only came up in July 1994, half of the year?

CHIEF REGISTRAR: “When the Attorney-General decided to prosecute in Abuja, the Chief Judge decided in his absolute consideration, taking the gravity of the offence into consideration and desiring that justice should be done, that a more experienced judge than the resident judge who was only two years on the high Bench should preside. The Chief Judge, acting under his power in sub-section 4 of Section 19 of the Federal High Court Act, sent the resident judge in Benin to Abuja to preside at the trial.”

MY COMMENTS:

This escapist rationale lack any sound logic and historical judicial precedence. In November 1962, when Chief Obafemi Awolowo and 30 others were charged with Treasonable felony at a Lagos High Court, it was a more volatile case than the present one in Abuja and the case was assigned to Justice George Sodeinde Sowemimo, who was then 42 years old on and barely few months old as a judge.

Secondly, even in this Abiola’s case, after Justice Mustapha stepped aside, a new judge that was asked to preside was Justice Chris Senlong, who was just barely two years old as a judge. Up till 1991, Justice Senlong, who was called to Bar in 1977, was one of the legal advisers of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC).

As a matter of fact, he handled many of the party election petition cases in Plateau State before the Local Government Council Election Tribunal where he represented his party in disputes at Nasarawa, Keffi, Akwanga, Lafia, Awe and Doma.

If Justice Senlong who was about two years old on the Bench, could be sent by Chief Judge Belgore himself to replace Justice Mustapha who stepped aside, it then means the argument that Justice Mustapha was imported from Benin Division because the resident judge in Abuja was only two years, cannot hold water. Apparently, there was no judge in Abuja because there was no division of Federal High Court there prior to the Abiola’s case.

Even if we have to go by the subsidiary instrument issued by the Chief Judge with the commencement date of July 1, 1994 for the creation of Abuja Division, that still does not validate Abiola’s trial in Abuja because the alleged offence, according to the charges, was committed on June 11, 1994 at Eleganza sports ground, Epetedo, Lagos.

By virtue of Section 45(a) of the Federal High Court Act, a person can only be charged and tried in the judicial Division of the Federal High Court in which he was alleged to have committed the offence with which he is charged.

Section 45 states inter alia…”the place for the trial of offences shall be as follows:

(a) A offence shall be tried by a court exercising jurisdiction in the area or place where the offence was committed”.

In conclusion, it is quite obvious from the foregoing, that the Chief Judge of the Federal High court, through his Chief Registrar, is trying to mislead the public on the true situation in respect of the creation of Abuja Division of the Federal High Court.

With due respect to the Chief Registrar, he is the one that is ignorant of the law and that has “mixed gold with dross and presented as gold,” to use his words. This is not only “falsehood but fraud.” I rest my case