Four-hour judgment reading delays Yahaya Bello’s trial at FCT High Court

‎Drama unfolded on Tuesday at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Maitama judicial division, during proceedings in the trial of Yahaya Adoza Bello.

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‎Justice Maryann Anenih had earlier delivered judgment in a civil matter before calling the criminal case between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Bello.

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‎Kemi Pinheiro, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, appeared as counsel to the prosecution in the case.

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‎Z. E. Abbas, counsel to the third defendant, was preparing to commence cross-examination of the prosecution witness when the court indicated that it would rise by 2:30pm.

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‎The court, however, said it could consider granting an additional 30 minutes if counsel would be able to conclude the cross-examination within that period.

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‎Responding, Pinheiro urged the court to extend the sitting time to enable the defence to conclude the cross-examination and allow the prosecution to call a fresh witness on the next adjourned date.

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‎Pinheiro said all parties had arrived in court as early as 9:00am but proceedings were delayed because the court first delivered judgment in another matter.

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‎He said the parties had waited for about four hours while the court carefully read the entire judgment in open court.

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‎Pinheiro said, “My Lord, I was actually pitying Your Lordship while reading the entire judgment for almost four hours.

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‎“At the Supreme Court, the practice is that only the first three pages and the last four pages are read during the delivery of judgment.

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‎“That approach saves time and also helps to preserve the health and energy of the court.”

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‎The court subsequently adjourned the matter to Wednesday and Thursday for continuation of cross-examination and further hearing in the trial.

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‎However, the judge directed that the case be placed as number two on the cause list for the following day, despite earlier discussions in court.

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