An Abuja High Court sitting in Jabi has fixed June 8, 2015 for the continuation of the trial of two journalists with LEADERSHIP newspaper accused of forging Presidential Bromide.
At the last adjourned date, further hearing was stalled in the matter due to the absence of the trial judge, Justice Usman Musale.
Masale was said to have traveled out of the country.
The Group News Editor of the newspaper, Tony Amokeodo and Senior Correspondent, Chibuzor Ukaibe, pleaded not guilty to the charge when it was read to them during their arraignment.
In the suit, the Federal Government had accused the journalists and the newspaper of alleged involvement in forging a presidential bromide.
The court had earlier rejected a letter-head paper emanating from the Chief of Staff to President Goodluck Jonathan.
The trial was to continue last Tuesday but parties in the matter were told that the judge travelled outside the country.
The court had rejected the letter-head paper which the prosecution claimed was from the Office of the Chief of Staff to President Jonathan.
Lawyer to the Federal Government, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), had intended to prove that the bromide as published by the LEADERSHIP newspaper was forged and therefore did not emanate from the President.
The first prosecution witness from the Federal Government, Ibrahim Bako, had testified that while investigating the forgery allegation, he approached the Presidency and was given a blank letter head paper from the Office of the President by one Abiye White, an assistant director.
The police officer said he discovered in the course of the investigation that the bromide and the Coat of Arms did not tally with the document he got from the Presidency.
Awomolo had also sought to tender a Certified True Copy of the letter head paper, which the witness claimed was obtained from the Office of the President.
But the lawyer to the journalists, Femi Falana (SAN), objected to the admissibility of the document.
According to Falana, what Awomolo sought to tender was a just a blank letter head paper, which did not emanate from the Office of the President, but from the office of the Chief of Staff to the President.
He said: “What the prosecution sought to tender is a blank sheet of paper from the office of the Chief of Staff to the President. Since the witness has said that he got a CTC from the office of the Chief of Staff, he cannot tender it.
“He cannot seek to tender a letter head paper from the office of the Chief of Staff because there is dichotomy between the President and the chief of Staff.
“The document in dispute is from the office of the President and not from the office of the Chief of Staff. I urge the court to reject it in the interest of justice.”
But Awomolo in his reply, disagreed with Falana, saying that his objection was misconceived and a misunderstanding of the law.
He said the document came from the officer who had custody of them, stressing: “It is wrong to expect that the President will certify documents by himself.”
The judge however ruled against the argument of Awomolo and accepted the submission of Falana.
Justice Musale consequently rejected the document as exhibit in the case.
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