A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mohammed Sani Katu, has resigned as the lead defence counsel for the former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, who is facing a N2.2 billion corruption charge.
In a Court document filed on Wednesday, the lawyer told the Federal High Court in Abuja that the reason he is resigning as the lead defence counsel is due to the fact that his mind and that of Maina “are at cross purpose” over the case.
Katu is the third lawyer to officially quit the defence team in the last three months.
He had requested to quit the case on Wednesday, but the trial judge, Justice Okon Abang, said he could not withdraw his appearance without giving the court a minimum of three days notice as stipulated in section 349(8) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.
However, immediately after Wednesday’s proceedings, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria filed a formal application seeking to withdraw from the case.
The written address accompanying the application read in part; “The application is primarily asking for the leave of this honourable court to enable the lead counsel, Muhammad Sani Katu, SAN, to withdraw his appearance and further representation of the 1st defendant (Mr Maina), for the sole reason that both the minds of the counsel and that of the 1st defendant are at cross purpose.”
Details of the circumstances of the non-alignment of the minds of Katu and Maina were not given.
