BEVERLY HILLS, March 16, (THEWILL) – Justice Muslim Hassan of the Federal High Court in Lagos has withdrawn himself from further presiding over the alleged N4.9bn fraud charge filed against a former Aviation minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
The judge, who ordered the return of the case file to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta, for re-assignment to another judge, asked Fani-Kayode and his co-defendants to await further directive from Justice Auta.
Fani-Kayode, had while asking the judge to recuse himself from the case, contended that since the judge was a former prosecutor with the EFCC, he would not get justice from him.
In an application filed through his lawyer, Mr. Norrison Quakers, the defendant recalled that Justice Hassan, then a senior counsel with the EFCC, was the officer who drafted, filed and signed a charge marked FHC/L/523c/2008, leading to his trial for alleged N100m money laundering before Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia.
He said though the EFCC vigorously prosecuted him based on the charges drafted, filed and signed by Justice Hassan, Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia, however, finally discharged and acquitted him after seven years on July 1, 2015.
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