The Nigerian Bar Association has shed light on the prolonged delay in the trial of 13 domestic staff members of former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, who have been held at the Okaka Correctional Centre in Yenagoa since 2019.
Speaking to journalists on Monday during a briefing on the upcoming 2025 Law Week, the chairman of the NBA’s Yenagoa branch, Somina Johnbull, attributed the delay to the nature of the case, which carries the possibility of capital punishment.
This year’s Law Week, themed ‘Setting the Pace: Law, Leadership and Transformational Development’, will culminate with a keynote address by former Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, on Friday, May 16.
Johnbull emphasized that because of the gravity of the charges, court proceedings could only move forward when all legal representatives were present, a condition that had never been met.
“All the 13 defendants all have their different lawyers and any day, because it’s also a case that has capital punishment, any day that any of the lawyers don’t come (to court), the case cannot proceed,” he stated.
He also noted the peculiarity of such a protracted case in Bayelsa State, where court processes typically move swiftly due to the availability of digital infrastructure like e-recording.
“This is a case that we have found somewhat strange. In Bayelsa, without sounding immodest, it is very strange for any matter to last beyond three, four years because of the facilities that have been provided, the e-recording system, and so, we find it strange, and then we investigated it,” he said.
Johnbull revealed that during the most recent hearing in April, the presiding court offered to step aside due to the public attention the case had drawn. However, the defendants urged the judge to continue, expressing their trust in the court.
“And, as a matter of fact, on the last day that the matter came up, I think the court even volunteered to recuse itself from the matter on account of the sensationalisation of that matter. All the defendants appealed that they still wanted the matter to proceed and that they had confidence in the court,” he added.
According to him, the NBA’s findings absolved the court of any blame, confirming that the court had always been ready to proceed with the case.
“With regard to the case you spoke about, I want to say that the NBA investigated the case. We spoke with all the lawyers and the fault isn’t from the court. We had a situation where there were 13 defendants… and we found out from the records that there was never a time this matter came up for hearing and the court wasn’t ready to hear the matter,” Johnbull affirmed.
