DSS RAID: Justice Ademola Accuses AGF of Vendatta, Withdraws from Dasuki’s case

Justice Adeniyi Ademola, one of the Federal High Court  judges arrested by the Department of State Securities (DSS) over allegation of corruption, this morning withdrew from the case of the former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki.

He said that he was sending the Dasuki’s case file back to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Atta for reassignment to another judge.

He cited allegations of corruption leveled against him by the DSS, which is the prosecution in the case, as the reason for his action.

Adeniyi Ademola, had accused the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, of being behind his ordeal.

Mr. Ademola said the immediate reason for his arrest was his decision to grant bail to former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, and A pro-Biafra leader, Nnamdi Kanu.

But he cited a longstanding friction with Mr. Malami as a reason too. The DSS accused Mr. Ademola and the other judges of corruption.

Mr. Ademola denied the allegation, and said in his letter to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Mahmud Mohammed through the CJ Federal High court that he was targeted because he ruled against the SSS in some controversial cases such as the ones involving Messrs. Dasuki and Kanu.

He said the SSS connived with the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, to use his decisions on the bench against him.

“What is more intriguing in this whole episode is that I see it as a vendetta/revenge from the Hon. Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN).

“Whilst I was in Kano between 2004-2008 as a Federal High Court judge, he was involved in a professional misconduct necessitating his arrest and detention by my order.

“However, with the intervention of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Kano Branch, the allegation of misconduct was later withdrawn by me.

“Consequently, the National Judicial Council (NJC) referred Abubakar Malami (SAN) to the NBA Disciplinary Committee for disciplinary action,” Mr. Ademola said.

Mr. Ademola said the case cost Mr. Malami his initial prospects of becoming a senior advocate of Nigeria.

“It was as a result of this he was denied the Rank of SAN by the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee for a period of four years until when he produced a fake letter of apology, purportedly addressed to me.

“It was then he was conferred with the rank. Since the above incident, Abubakar Malami (SAN) has threatened to revenge and swore to do anything to bring me down,” the judge said.

Mr. Ademola denied the allegations against him, including charges that he was in possession of unlicensed firearms.