Judge disqualifies self from Boko Haram case

Justice John Tsoho of the Federal High sitting in Abuja, on Tuesday, disqualified himself from the trial of suspected members of the dreaded Boko Haram insurgents.'

The Federal Government is prosecuting the Boko Haram suspects on an 11-count charge bordering on alleged kidnapping and murdering of 11 foreign nationals between 2011 and 2013 in the Northern part of the country.


The defendants are Mohammed Usman (aka Khalid Albarnawi), described as leader of a Boko Haram splinter group, Mohammed Bashir Saleh, Umar Bello (aka Abu Azzan); Mohammed Salisu (Datti); Yakubu Nuhu (aka Bello Maishayi), Usman Abubakar (Mugiratu) and a lady, Halima Aliyu.

Delivering a ruling on the request of the defendants for transfer of their case, Justice Tsoho disqualified himself from presiding over the trial and added that since the 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th defendants had an alleged bias, the honourable thing to do is to disqualify himself from hearing the case.

Justice Tsoho noted that the Boko Haram suspects are alleging bias and loss of confidence because of the order that they are kept in the custody of the Department of State Services (DS) against its earlier ruling.

Though, Justice Tsoho observed that his order delivered on April 25, 2017, has not been appealed he, however, withdrew from the trial .
Recalled that Justice Tsoho had on March 14, 2017, ordered that the defendants be remanded in Kuje prison custody and instead of obeying the remand order made, the prosecution counsel returned to court with an application seeking the court to vary its earlier directive.

After taking arguments from prosecution and defence counsel, the court, on April 25, succumbed to the pressure of the Federal Government and ordered that the defendants be kept under the custody of the DSS.


The NigerianTribune