A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Femi Falana, has called for the removal of a retired judge of the High Court, Justice Ebenezer Adebajo, from the committee probing the cause of a recent civilian-military clash in Lagos.

In a letter to the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, dated July 23, Falana argued that the appointment of Adebajo as the head of the inquiry committee was unconstitutional as the impartiality of the retired judge could not be guaranteed.

The Lagos State governor had, on July 21,2014, set up a three-man commission of enquiry to look into the circumstances surrounding the mayhem along Ikorodu Road. In the mayhem, a soldier was killed and military men allegedly set some BRT buses ablaze.

Falana’s call for Adebajo’s removal is based on a case of attempted murder instituted by the Lagos State Government against a commercial driver, Quadri Kasali, in which Adebajo, whose car was hit by Kasali, is the chief complainant and also the principal witness.

According to Falana, Adebajo’s membership of the civilian-military clash inquiry committee will occasion a breach of natural justice since the retired judge was listed as a witness in Kasali’s case, another traffic offence-related matter instituted by the Attorney General of Lagos State.

The letter read in part, “The ground of our objection is that Justice Adebajo has been listed as a prosecution witness by the Attorney-General of Lagos State in a criminal case pending before the Lagos High Court.

“His Lordship had complained to the Police that while he packed his car to greet a friend along Moloney Street, Lagos, on March 1, 2012, he was hit by the driver of a commercial vehicle, Mr. Quadri Kasali. Even though the allegation confirmed that it was a traffic offence, his Lordship caused the Lagos State Ministry of Justice to charge the suspect with attempted murder before the Lagos High Court. The case is currently being prosecuted by the Attorney General of Lagos State, on the basis of the complaint of the retired judge.

“Being a complainant and the principal witness in a case of attempted murder   arising from a traffic offence, which is being prosecuted by the Attorney General of Lagos State, Justice Adebajo cannot be said to be independent of the Lagos State Government with respect to the conduct of the proceedings of the Judicial Commission of Enquiry into the army/civilian clash traceable to another traffic offence.

“It is our submission that it offends the rules of natural justice for a witness of the Lagos State Government in a pending criminal case to be invited to preside over an enquiry set up by the governor of the state.”

In the letter, Falana added that Adebajo had used his influence to ensure that Kasali, who was indigent, was denied bail for 18 months.

The letter further read, “As Mr. Kasali could not afford the services of a legal practitioner for his defence, our law office decided to defend him pro bono publico. But to our utter dismay, Justice Adebajo and the Ministry of Justice ensured that the poor defendant was denied bail by both the Magistrate Court (where he was initially arraigned on a holding charge) and the High Court, where he is currently being tried. However, we succeeded in persuading the Court of Appeal to admit the defendant to bail in the most liberal terms. Thus, Mr. Kasali was able to regain his freedom after he had been detained in prison custody for about 18 months!”