Judge’s ill-health forces adjournment of Rickey Tarfa’s trial to October

A Lagos State High Court in Igbosere yesterday adjourned till October 24 and 31 to continue the trial of the embattled Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Rickey Tarfa due to the ill health of trial judge, Justice Aishat Opesanwo.

At the hearing of the matter yesterday, the judge told the parties that she was in “a poor state of health” with his chamber flooded from the rains of this week, which also has affected some court documents.

The Economic and Financial Crime Commission was scheduled to open its case against Tarfa on a two-count charge of obstruction of officers of law from carrying out their duties and of attempting to pervert the cause of justice by communicating with a Federal High Court judge that was handling a suit he filed against the Commission.

Tarfa is also facing two other criminal charges preferred against him by the Commission before Justices Raliat Adeniyi and Adedayo Akintoye. 
When the matter was called yesterday, EFCC counsel Mohammed Abba informed the court that the Commission had two witnesses in court who were ready to testify and the defence counsel, A. J. Owonikoko also indicated his client’s preparedness to proceed.

But Justice Opesanwo informed the court that she could not proceed with the trial.She said, “I must disappoint you gentlemen. I’m not in a good state of health. I just managed to come here. I think I am ill,” the judge said.She also explained that her court had not sat since Monday because the rains had affected the courtroom and the judge’s chamber is flooded.

“We drained four buckets from the courtroom, four buckets of water, you all saw it. Your colleagues came to sympathise with me the other day, they saw everything. My chambers has remained open and I still cannot sit in there because of the foul odour,” the judge said.

She added that even sensitive court files and other documents were soaked with water. 
In his reaction, Owonikoko urged the anti-graft agency to investigate the matter of how a judge’s chamber could be exposed in such a state that rainwater would enter it.

After much deliberation with counsels in the matter, the judge adjourned till October 24 and 31 owing to her ill health and the flooded state of the court.