Former Managing Director of Intercontinental Bank, Erastus Akingbola, has urged a Fedral High Court in Lagos not to accede to the request of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,EFCC, to have his case transferred from Justice Charles Achibong to another Judge.
The EFCC had, in a motion, urged Justice Archibong to disqualify himself from continuing with the criminal matter. In the motion, EFCC accused the judge of bias in the manner he was conducting the case and asked that the case be taken from him.
But? in a counter-affidavit to the motion, Akingbola argued? that it would not only be unjust and inequitable to accede to EFCC’s request, but would also be unfair if the anti-graft agency was allowed to pick and choose the judge to handle a matter in which it is a party.
He maintained that the EFCC’s motion was filed in bad faith and abuse of court process, because the allegation of bias raised against the judge was in respect of another civil matter he had earlier filed to protect his fundamental human rights against the abuse of power by the EFCC and wondered how what happened in another different matter entirely would be transferred to the criminal matter.