SHAWWAL 9, 1429 A.H.
TUESDAY OCTOBER 7 2008
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Polygamy: Sharia judge transfers case to magistrate's court
An Upper Sharia court Judge, Minna, Alhaji Abdulmalik Imam, yesterday transferred the case of the controversial polygamist, Muhammadu Bello-Masaba, to a Chief Magistrate's Court.
Imam ruled that the magistrate's court would be best suited to handle the case because most of the offences preferred against Bello- Masaba bordered on the state penal code.
He then adjourned sitting, earlier counsel to the Shariah commission, Alhaji Muhammadu Sakaba, had pleaded with the court to modify the charges against the accused.
Mr. Femi Ikotun, Counsel to Bello- Masaba, had also pleaded with the court to dismiss the suit for lack of jurisdiction.
The trial judge, however, did not allow the two counsel to move their motions.
Reacting to the court's ruling, Sakaba said the judge had the power to transfer the case to another court.
``This is what he has done, the case will now be assigned to a magistrate before a date is fixed for the next hearing,'' he said.
But Ikotun described the transfer of the case as travesty of justice and vowed to pursue the case to its logical conclusion.
He said the judge should have freed his client when he realised that his court did not have jurisdiction to hear the case.
Bello-Masaba was arrested on 15, September, 2008 at his Bida residence and charged for allegedly marrying 86 wives unlawfully.
He was also alleged to have conducted an unlawful marriage, contrary to sections 210, 383 and 386 of the penal code.
The judge ordered that the accused be kept in prison custody to allow for proper police investigation and fixed yesterday for continuation of hearing.
No fewer than 15 lawyers appeared for Bello-Masaba from a pool of 86 lawyers that pledged to defend him.
The team leader of the lawyers, Malam Muhammad Sanusi, said the 86 lawyers were expected to represent each of the wives.
``We assume that the wives would have been brought to court, so we assembled 86 lawyers, one for each wife,'' he said.
``It was logical to bring the wives to court to establish the allegation against Bello-Masaba.''
