Confusion at tribunal as prosecution team clashes | Nairalaw

A disagreement broke out in the camp of the prosecution in the
trial of the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter
Onnoghen, as the proceedings resumed on Monday.

The disagreement started after the prosecution led by Mr. Aliyu
Umar (SAN), and the defence led by Mr. Okon Efut (SAN), announced
appearances for their teams.

As Umar informed the tribunal that he was ready for the business
of the day which was the adoption of final addresses, a member of
his team, Prof. Zainab Duke, attempted to speak to the bench.

With a paper in her hand, Duke tried to speak into the
microphone but Umar grabbed the microphone and shouted on her to
sit down.

“There cannot be two leading counsel. Sit down. You cannot
speak,” Umar shouted.

Struggling to stand up after she sank to her seat in the middle
of a struggle for the microphone with Umar,Duke told the bench, “my
lord I need your protection”.

Responding, the Chairman of the three-man bench, Danladi Umar,
urged calm, and restated the lead prosecuting counsel’s point,
saying, “only one counsel can speak for the team”.

“Whatever you have to say, inform the lead counsel,” the
tribunal chairman said.

Defiant, Duke attempted to speak again, but she was cut short by
the lead prosecuting counsel, who requested the tribunal to order
that she be sent out of the courtroom.

When he realised, his request was not immediately granted, he
requested that Duke’s name is struck out from the list of the
prosecution’s team.

His request was granted by the tribunal and Duke walked out
immediately it was ruled that her name had been removed from the
prosecution’s list.

Speaking outside, the courtroom, she said she only wanted to
draw the tribunal’s attention to the similarity between the
Onnoghen’s trial and a case that took place in England many years
ago.

When asked outside the tribunal what she had wanted to tell the
tribunal, Professor Duke said she just wanted to observe that the
present case of Justice Onnoghen is similar to that of King Charles
of England 300 years ago.