The Special Offences Court in Lagos has refused to stop hearing the corruption allegations made against the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.
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Justice Rahman Oshodi in his ruling on Wednesday dismissed the request for him to recuse himself from the trial, stating that the allegations of bias against him were unsubstantiated.
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Citing a range of legal authorities, the court held that judicial bias is insufficient to justify disqualification or recusal, adding that it must be personal or based on some judicial reasoning.
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The judge subsequently held that the application for his recusal lacked merit and he promptly refused it.
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At the last sitting of the court on Monday, Emefiele, through his lead counsel, Olalekan Ojo (SAN), had requested that Justice Oshodi step down from the proceedings.
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The counsel argued that by allowing the prosecution to ask a leading question that the defence had previously objected to, the judge had made it impossible for the defence to fairly cross-examine the witness.Â
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He requested that Justice Oshodi recuse himself from further hearings.
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