A former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Ishaya Bamaiyi (retd), yesterday told an Ikeja High Court that a former Chief Judge of Lagos, Mr. Augustine Ade-Alabi, demanded N10 million bribe to secure his bail from the Kirikiri Maximum Prisons.
Bamaiyi made the allegation yesterday while under cross-examination by Mr. Olalekan Ojo (SAN), the defence counsel to a Lagos socialite and a suspected fraudster, Fred Ajudua, before Justice Josephine Oyefeso.
Ajudua is standing trial for allegedly defrauding Bamaiyi in 2006 of $8.4million at the Kirikiri Maximum Prisons on the pretext of providing the legal services of Chief Afe Babalola to help secure his freedom from Kirikiri Prisons.
Bamaiyi was in Kirikiri for the alleged attempted murder of the late publisher of The Guardian, Mr. Alex Ibru. He was later discharged and acquitted of the charge by the court.
The former Chief of Army Staff told the court that Mr. Ade-Alabi was the chief judge during his trial and that he allegedly demanded the bribe to enable him secure bail. According to him, the former chief judge sent Mr. Popoola Martins to him and other defendants to pay N10million.
Bamaiyi said due to the bribery allegation, the National Judicial Council (NJC) set up a panel to investigate the claims.
He said Martins, however, died under mysterious circumstances on the eve of the day he was billed to testify before the NJC.
He said because of the unfortunate development, the NJC, in its report, declared his claims as ‘baseless and false’.
He told the court that Ajudua, as part of a scheme to defraud him, had promised to approach Justices Ade-Alabi and Joseph Oyewole and Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), who was then the Attorney-General of Lagos State, to help secure his release from prison.
Bamaiyi said: “The defendant told me that he would take my case up to the CJ, Justice Ade-Alabi. He told me that he would send his wife, who is also a lawyer, to see Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, the then Attorney-General of Lagos State, now the Vice-President of Nigeria, to the benefit of all of us in the case.
“The defendant said his wife gave him feedback that both Justice Ade-Alabi and Prof. Osinbajo suggested that I look for a senior counsel, who must not be a northerner”.
Gen. Bamaiyi said there was no way he could have rejected the suggestion that Chief Afe Babalola should defend him, but insisted that it was Ajudua who made the suggestion.
The retired general told the court that he kept records of all the funds he gave Ajudua as legal fees for Chief Afe Babalola’s services.
The law chambers of Afe Babalola and Co has since issued a disclaimer disassociating itself from the case.
Bamaiyi denied claims by the defence that the records of entries of the funds he allegedly gave Ajudua, which he wrote in a diary, were fabricated.
Justice Josephine Oyefeso adjourned the case till May 14 for continuation of cross-examination.
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