The Special Offences Court in Lagos has refused to halt proceedings in the corruption trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele.

In a ruling delivered on Wednesday, Justice Rahman Oshodi dismissed Emefiele’s request for him to recuse himself from the trial, stating that the allegations of bias were unsubstantiated.

Citing various legal authorities, the judge held that claims of judicial bias must be either personal or based on specific judicial reasoning to warrant disqualification or recusal. He ruled that the application lacked merit and, as a result, was denied.

At the previous court sitting on Monday, Emefiele, through his lead counsel, Olalekan Ojo (SAN), had requested that Justice Oshodi step down from the proceedings.

The defence argued that the judge had compromised their ability to cross-examine a prosecution witness fairly by allowing the prosecution to ask a leading question, despite a prior objection from the defence team.

However, the judge maintained that the trial would proceed under his oversight, dismissing the concerns raised by Emefiele’s legal team.