Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin yesterday declined an application asking it to withdraw from the trial of suspects in the Offa robbery incident and return the case to the chief judge, ruling that the applicant did not show sufficient grounds for recusal and reassignment.
   
The case, presided over by Justice Olalekan Ajayi, involves a former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, former governor of the state, Abdulfatah Ahmed, his former chief of staff, Yusuf Abdulwahab, and his former political aide, Alabi Olalekan.
   
In a motion on notice by the defence lawyers, led by Mr Kamaldeen Ajibade, SAN, counsel to Saraki had alleged a likelihood of bias, pointing to the court’s earlier involvement with the facts of a civil suit arising from the same subject matter.
   
The counsel argued that, while Saraki and Ahmed are the first and second defendants in the present criminal proceedings, they were the third and fourth defendants in the civil matter, with the principal issues for determination in the civil suit substantially intertwined with the allegations that were yet to be determined in the instant criminal charge.
   
However, after reviewing the application, the supporting affidavit and counter-affidavit, the court struck out certain paragraphs of both affidavits for failing to comply with Section 115 of the Evidence Act, which governs affidavit evidence.
   
Applying the test set out by the Supreme Court in Sifax Nig. Ltd v. Phoenix Capital Ltd, the court also held that, in particular, the applicant did not show how the court’s continued hearing of the charge would create real or apparent bias in the eyes of a reasonable and informed observer.
   
Consequently, the court raised, suo motu (of its own accord), the question of whether the trial had already commenced. It then adjourned the matter to November 5, 2026, to allow the parties to address it on that point.
   
Saraki and others were allegedly linked to the case, with reports saying that the victims of the Offa robbery later sued the Kwara State Government and Ahmed in civil proceedings, arguing that Saraki and Ahmed should be prosecuted.