A magistrate handling the criminal case arising from the alleged destruction of a journalist’s farmland by cattle has withdrawn from the matter following controversy over his handling of the proceedings.
The case, which is between the Commissioner of Police and Abdullahi Yusuf, stems from allegations that cattle repeatedly invaded farms owned by investigative journalist and farmer Ibanga Isine, in what observers consider an important test of Akwa Ibom State’s anti-open-grazing law.
Counsel to the nominal complainant, Sammy Etuk, told PREMIUM TIMES shortly after Monday’s proceedings that the presiding magistrate, Godwin Edemekong of Magistrate Court 7, recused himself from the case.
According to Mr Etuk, the magistrate said he was stepping aside because of the public attention the matter had attracted and what he described as “the abrasive and offensive nature of the nominal complainant.”
The development comes days after PREMIUM TIMES reported the controversy surrounding the magistrate’s handling of the proceedings, including the exclusion of the nominal complainant from the courtroom while allowing the defendant and others to remain, a decision that sparked criticism from media and civil society groups.
