Alleged $10m bribe: Court throws out Bamaiyi, Al-Mustapha's appeal

(NIGERIA) Lagos division of the Court of Appeal sitting in Igbosere, has struck out a Notice of Appeal, instituted by former Chief of Army Staff, Leutenant General Ishaya Bamaiyi (rtd), alongside three others questioning the ruling of Justice R O Nwodo (deceased) for lack of
diligent prosecution.
Aside Bamaiyi, other appellants includes: former Lagos Police boss, James Danbaba, Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the late Gen. Sani Abacha, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha and Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Mohammed Rabo Lawal.
It would be recalled that twelve years ago, Bamaiyi and his co-appellants were charged before a Lagos High Court presided over by Justice Augustine Ade Alabi (3rd respondent) over alleged attempted murder of the late publisher of Guardian Newspapers, Alex Ibru.
In the course of their trial, the appellants had claimed through their individual lawyers that Justice Ade-Alabi who was the then Chief Judge of Lagos State demanded for $10 million bribe from them.
They also alleged that the trial judge had threatened and bullied their lawyers severally in court, adding that the judge had caused delay in entertaining motions as well as delivering rulings and also refused to supply record of proceedings in the case.
The appellants then petitioned the National Judicial Council (NJC), with a demand that the trial judge should excuse himself from
the case.
Justice Nwodo in her ruling delivered on September 26, 2002, threw out the appellants’ application, praying for leave of the Federal
High Court to enforce their Fundamental Rights as guaranteed under Section 36 of the Constitution.
However not satisfied, Bamaiyi alongside others through their counsel, Yakubu Maikau appealed against the ruling and urged the appellate court to set aside the decision aside and grant them leave to enforce their fundamental human rights.
According to the appellants' brief, they prayed the court to hold that the trial judge has jurisdiction to entertain their application.
They equally prayed the appellate court to declare that Section 158 of the Constitution does not preclude the lower court from
enquiring into an alleged breach of fair hearing against the NJC.
The appellants also want the court to issue a declaration that from the proceedings in charge N0- LCD/108/99, the 3rd respondent (Justice Alabi) no longer possessed the independence and impartiality required by section 36 of the Constitution to continue to
preside over the proceedings in the said charge.
Interestingly, many years after the appeal was initiated, neither the appellant nor the respondent attended to it. This then led to the Court of Appeal, presided over by Justice U I Ndukwe-Anyanwu to strike out the matter for lack of diligent prosecution.