Accused oil marketer alleges bias
JUNE 3, 2013
Chief Justice of Nigeria, Aloma Mukhtar
An oil marketer, Mr. Oluwaseun Ogunbambo, who is facing multiple oil subsidy and bank fraud charges, has alleged that a judge of the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja, Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo, is bias and determined to convict him.
Ogunbambo, in his petition to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mukhtar, seeks investigation to the manner Justice Onigbanjo had been handling his trial.
He wants the CJN to investigate the allegation that the judge was determined to jail him regardless of the merit or otherwise of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s case.
Ogunbambo’s grounds for the alleged bias was that he was the only one Justice Onigbanjo denied bail among others who are standing trial for subsidy fraud charges before the judge.
In his petition, Ogunbambo said the judge had relied on a “prejudicial” matter in another court to deny him bail.
The said matter is an alleged N430m bank fraud for which the EFCC is currently prosecuting him before Justice Olabisi Akinlade of the same Lagos High Court in Ikeja.
Justice Akinlade had also denied Ogunambo bail.
But he said Onigbanjo had denied him bail even when IBTC, whose complaint he (Onigbanjo) relied upon to deny him bail, had written to EFCC for the withdrawal of the case.
Ogunbambo recently enlisted former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr.Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), as his counsel.
He said in his petition that it appeared that Onigbanjo had “taken a position” against him going by the judge’s rulings and “certain documents” the court had against him.
He said the documents “prepared by the EFCC” was admitted against him despite opposition to it by his lawyers.
He said, “The rulings I have referred to above are even child’s play in comparison to the manner in which the Honourable judge, during the proceedings in these charges, has granted an ex-parte application for the forfeiture of my assets to the Federal Government behind my back and before my guilt had been established.
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