‘New judge for Shema’s trial’

From Augustine Okezie, Katsina

Katsina State Chief Judge Justice Musa Danladi Abubakar on Sunday in Katsina told The Nation that a new judge would soon be appointed to take over the trial of former governor Ibrahim Shehu Shema and three others accused of misappropriating councils’ funds.

The trial was brought to a halt following the death of the former presiding judge, Justice Ibrahim Maikaita Bako of the state High Court.

The Nation recalled that Justice Bako, until his death, was the judge handling the trial of former Katsina State governor Ibrahim Shehu Shema and three other respondents, including former commissioner for Local Governments’ Affairs Hamisu Makana, former permanent secretary Ministry of Local Governments Lawal Rufai and ex-Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) chairman Laval Dankaba.

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Justice Bako died early in January at Cedarcrest Hospital, Abuja following the injuries he sustained in a car accident on the Katsina-Kankara Road.

According to the CJ, since the new judge soon to be appointed to handle the case is fresh on the case, he has to begin all over rather than continuing, considering that he was not there at the beginning.

He said: “All the judges of the state High Court will soon meet to decide who among us will take over the case, and certainly the case will start afresh. The case was not abandoned; rather arrangement is being made to assign a new judge to handle the case.”