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Nigerian Judge Withdraws From N3 Billion Criminal Trial Of Former Governor Gabriel Suswam

He was brought in early to give the former governor a "soft landing” and that would include using legal contacts in Abuja to reach Justice Mohammed to make a deal in favour of Suswam.

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Justice Ahmed Mohammed has withdrawn from the N3.1 billion criminal trial of Gabriel Suswam, a former Governor of Benue State.

Following the withdrawal, Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in Abuja took over the case, according to a Punch Report.

In 2016, SaharaReporters revealed how some persons were working to get Justice Mohammed to give Suswam a favourable judgment.

At the time, a source told SaharaReporters that he was brought in early to give the former governor a "soft landing” and that would include using legal contacts in Abuja to reach Justice Mohammed to make a deal in favour of Suswam.

Earlier this month, SaharaReporters also revealed how the judge was compromised with a sum of N500 million to subvert justice.[story_link align="left"]71400[/story_link]

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)  had been prosecuting ex-governor along with Omodachi Okolobia, the state commissioner of finance during the Suswam administration in Benue before Justice Mohammed since November 2015.

Justice Mohammed’s withdrawal from the case was the second after he announced a  similar decision on June 6, 2016.

It was learnt that Justice Adamu Kafarati reassigned the matter to Justice Abang before he retired on July 25.

The EFCC is prosecuting Suswam and Okolobia on nine counts of money laundering involving the alleged diversion of  N3,111,008,018.51 from the proceeds of the sale of shares owned by the Benue State Government.

The fourth prosecution witness, Abubakar Umar, has been in the witness box in Justice Mohammed’s court since 2017.

The case has suffered many adjournments since last year when the EFCC labelled Umar a “hostile witness”.