The judge handling the case of defamation against Omoyele Sowore of Sahara Reporters as instituted by Saraki has washed his hands off the suit.
Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki
Justice Sikiru Oyinloye of the Kwara State High Court, yesterday removed himself from a contempt application filed by Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, against online publisher, Omoyele Sowore, and his company, Sahara Reporters.
At the court proceedings in Ilorin, counsel to the Senate President, Babatunde Olomu, had sought to move the application for contempt proceedings against Sowore but Justice Oyinloye asked him not to do so, on the ground that the matter affected the integrity of his court.
“I do not want to be a judge in what seems to be my own case; the application is hereby directed to be taken to the Registry pronto,” the judge said.
He added that he had deliberately refused to read the application since it was brought to his office.
In a short ruling thereafter, the court directed Saraki to go back to the High Court Registry and start a fresh process for the assigning of the case by the Chief Judge of the state.
Oyinloye also directed the Registrar of his own court to initiate the transfer of the case file to the main Registry and undertake a daily follow-up of the file until the matter had been assigned to a new judge.
The judge later gave the two parties a new date of November 24, 2017 when they are to appear before him to give a progress report on the contempt proceedings.