MUHAMMADU BUHARI'S LAWYER ALSO BRIBED JUSTICE ADEMOLA WITH N500,000

An operative of the Department of State Services (DSS) yesterday told an FCT High Court that a lawyer representing President Muhammadu Buhari gave Justice Adeniyi Ademola N500, 000 as gift when the judge was hearing the certificate suit against the president. 

Babatunde Adepoju, under cross examination by Barrister Jeph Njikonye as the sixteenth prosecution witness, told the court that while he was interviewing Joe Agi (SAN) (the 3rd defendant in the trial), he was told that Buhari’s lawyer, Kola Awodein (SAN) also passed a gift of N500,000 to Justice Ademola during the wedding of his daughter.

He said Agi submitted that the gift of N30million his client gave him to give Justice Ademola was not the only wedding gift the judge received. 

Adepoju said Agi told him that the time Awodehin gave the gift to Justice Ademola, Buhari’s certificate suit was pending before the judge. He said he however did not investigate this assertion further.

The certified true copy of the record of proceedings in the suit between Chukwu Okafor vs General Muhammad Buhari (rtd), tendered by Njikonye was admitted in evidence as Exhibit FFF. From this document, the witness confirmed that the third counsel for Buhari in the suit was Kola Awodein. He also confirmed the suit was before Justice Ademola.

When asked if he is of the opinion that President Buhari’s lawyer was bribing the judge to win his case by presenting a wedding gift to the judge, the witness said “No. In my opinion, it would be speculative to say the gift by President Buhari’s lawyer was a bribe to Justice Ademola. It is not a bribe.”

He added that it will also be speculative that the gift by common friends passed through Joe Agi to Justice Ademola was a bribe.

After calling three additional witnesses (bankers from UBA, Diamond and Skye banks) to bring the total prosecution witness to 19, the prosecution closed its case against the defendant. Thereafter, counsels to the three defendants informed the court they intended to file no-case submissions.

The trial judge, Justice Jude Okeke adjourned the matter to March 15 and gave the defense four days to file their applications and the prosecution nine days to file its reply to the defense’s no-case submission.

Source: Daily Trust