Nigerian-born former Acting Chief Justice of The Gambia, Joseph Wowo, has insisted that he has no case to answer in the bribery scandal that has rocked the judiciary of the West African nation for months.

Wowo’s legal representative, Uzoma Achigbue, in a statement examined and argued all the fourteen charges slammed against the embattled judge, shining the lights on the specifics and providing the opportunity for all concerned to see the case from another side.

He further clarified that the prosecution must prove his client ran foul of the law as concerns the case as specified in Section 90 of the criminal code volume 111, Laws of The Gambia which Wowo is accused of contravening by supposedly abusing authority, acting in arbitrariness and in a manner prejudicial to the right of another, among other things.

The former Acting Chief Justice was allegedly caught on tape meeting with the former Gambian Justice Minister, Lamin Jobarteh, who was sacked, a Dutch national, Andre Klaarbergen, and his Nigerian Lawyer Christopher Mene, negotiating the outcome of a Gambian Appeal Court judgment over a land dispute.

The allegations of bribery however suffered a huge blow as witnesses, during cross-examination, said nothing of such happened at the meeting, where the misdemeanour was reported to have taken place, as it was convened to compensate the party that lost in the land dispute case.

According to the no-case statement, one of the people at the meeting, the second prosecution witness at the High Court, Alieu Barry stated that Justice Joseph Wowo made it clear that he was invited by the former minister to mediate in the matter of compensation to the party that lost the case regarding dispute as to the title of land and not to subvert the course of justice as alleged. Commenting on supposed evidence available on YouTube, Barry said it was not a correct reflection of what he recorded.

Educated in the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka in Anambra State, Wowo has worked in The Gambian judiciary for years.
www.justicejosephwowo.com