Appeal Court justice withdraws from Patience Jonathan’s case

The suit seeking to stop the forfeiture of $5.7 million and N2.4 billion to the Federal Government by the wife of former President, Mrs Patience Jonathan, was on Wednesday stalled at the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division.
The matter was stalled because one of the three-man panel of the appellate court was recusing himself from hearing the appeal for personal reasons.

Justice John Ikyeh, who presided over the appeal alongside Justices Abimbola Obaseki-Adejumo and Abrahim Georgewill, noted that three judges were required to form a quorum.
He, however, did not say which of the justices was withdrawing from hearing the case.
Ikyeh said: “One of us is going to recuse himself from this case for personal reasons, so we are not complete. Two of us cannot make a quorum.”

Counsel to the EFCC Rotimi Oyedepo, urged the court to consider hearing the appeal preferably during the court’s vacation.

Oyedepo said: “If we can be accommodated during vacation. Our challenge is that the trial court has stayed proceedings over the subject matter of this suit.”
But the court observed that because it had not formed a quorum, it could not grant his request.

Ikyeh said: “we can’t write anything because we are not complete. One of us is recusing from this appeal.
“The suit is hereby adjourned till Sept. 18, first week after vacation.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mrs Patience Jonathan’s appeal arose from an order obtained by the EFCC on April 26 from the Federal High Court in Lagos, temporarily forfeiting the money to the government.
The commission told Justice Mojisola Olatoregun, who made the order, that the funds were suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.
NAN