We defended Lamido on legal premise, not politics – Counsel

One of the defence counsel that stood for the immediate past governor of Jigawa state, Alhaji Sule Lamido, on a four-count charge bordering on “inciting disturbances, criminal intimidation among others,” Barrister Isah Ahamed, has described the verdict passed by the Jigawa state High Court in favour of the former governor as “a legal watershed.”

Speaking to newsmen in Kano yesterday on the verdict that cleared the former governor of  the four-count charge levelled against him, Ahamed said the arraignment of Governor Sule Lamido was effected in violation of due process at the initial stage as it was supposed to be done in  line with the provision of the law.

Ahamed said the immediate past governor’s defence counsel, led by Barrister Abdullahi Yakubu Riba, had defended him and done a thorough job in bailing him, adding that “with the watershed judgement of the court, they are fully convinced that the court had effected what was legally appropriate.”

He said: “We were compelled to press our case further, knowing that the concept of due process was grossly circumvented. Our line of argument was the way and manner the charges were leveled against our client. The Magistrate’s Court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the case the position of the law is explicitly clear on this.

“At the time we felt that we were not satisfied with the initial arraignment of our client at the Magistrate’s Court, we took the decision to press our case to the High Court to seek for redress. We were, however, emboldened by the fact that the initial arraignment was effected in violation of the required legal procedure.”

Continuing, he said: “We are ready to press our case to the Supreme Court if the need arises. All we knew is that justice is done and the verdict passed in favour of our client had exculpated him from all the charges leveled against him. One can clearly see the distinction that   our client’s hands are clean.

“However, the state government has the right to appeal the judgement passed in favour of our client and we too have the right to pursue our case to a logical conclusion. We are ever ready to go to the Supreme Court on discerning the fact that the state government decide to effect same.”

He said counsel to the defendants, led by Barrister Abdullahi Yakubu Riba, had  discharged  their  responsibility based on legal antecedents not because politics was involved stressing however that in any case, the position of the law had to be taken into cognisance, before any other thing.

 

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