‘All charges dropped’ EFCC to appeal as court discharges judge of bribery charges

Prosecuting lawyer, Wahab Shittu, said on Tuesday that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will appeal against Monday’s judgment of the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja which discharged a judge, Mohammed Yunusa, of bribery charges instituted against him in 2016.

Mr Yunusa was a serving judge at the Enugu Division of the Federal High Court when he was, in July 2016, suspended by the National Judicial Council (NJC) pending President Muhammadu Buhari’s approval of the council’s recommendation for his compulsory retirement.

In January 2018, EFCC arraigned him on three counts of taking bribe from a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Rickey Tarfa, who is also being separately prosecuted by the commission on similar charges.

The anti-graft agency, in February 2020, scaled the charges up to nine counts and re-arraigned Mr Yunusa alongside Esther Agbor, a worker at Mr Tarfa’s law firm, who was accused of paying N1.5million to the judge’s bank account.

The commission, in the amended charges, accused the two defendants of attempted perversion of the course of justice, corruption by a public official, use of office or position for gratification to the tune of N2,250,000.

But the Special Offences Division of the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja, on Monday, discharged the judge of the charges on the grounds that the NJC had reinstated the judge.

The trial judge, Serifat Solebo, gave the discharge order in a ruling following an application by the counsel for the second defendant in the case, John Odubela, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

Mr Odubela had informed the court that the NJC had issued Mr Yinusa a December 29, 2020 letter signed by the Deputy Chairman, Olabode Rhodes-Vivour, who is also a Justice of the Supreme Court, lifting the suspension slammed on the sanctioned judge over four years ago.

Overruling EFCC’s objection, Ms Solebo discharged Mr Yunusa on Monday.

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