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Tag: judges

  • Conflicting judgments by judges necessary in judiciary – CJN

    The Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Walter Onnoghen, has said conflicting decisions by different judges on same issue as presented before them (the judges) are necessary and that the Appeal Court is set up to revisit such judgments in case the defendants are not satisfied.

    The CJN made the remark on Monday in Abuja when he declared open the 2017 National Energy Workshop for Judges.

    He also said that judges must not allow technicalities to stand in the way of justice in order to sustain public confidence in the judiciary.

    Onnoghen explained that the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) would engender timely disposition of cases and encouraged the judges to adopt it.

    The CJN noted that the theme of the workshop: “Law and the Changing Face of Petroleum and Power Sectors in Nigeria”, was relevant in the light of the developments in the international energy market.

    He said that the workshop would enlighten the judges on global best practices in confronting the challenges that might arise in the power and petroleum sectors.

    “Some of the notable challenges faced are in the areas of taxes, rebates, royalties, demand for corporate social responsibility and environmental disputes which require the courts to adjudicate.”

    “Conflicting decisions, unfortunately, are necessary because when you approach a court in Lagos, your facts are stated and the facts of that case are also different in a court in Port Harcourt.

    “So, the judge takes a decision based on the facts before him and the law and that is why we have the Court of Appeal who will look at the law and decide,” the CJN said.

    He expressed confidence that the workshop would aid the justices and judges in the adjudication and resolution of lingering disputes

    In a keynote address, the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, called for measures to speed the “crawling” judicial process in the country.

    Osinbajo, who was represented by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, described the slow judicial process in the country as “nightmare for investors.”

    We need to evolve measures that will speed up the judicial decisions. We also need these decisions not to be too complicated for investors to easily understand,” he said.

    The acting president expressed the need to align the decisions of various courts with some level of credibility to avoid complicated decisions from unnecessary “forum shopping”.

    “We need to ensure sanctity of international arbitration and judges should be trained in petroleum and energy sectors so that they will be fully equipped to handle the emerging trends in the sector.”

    According to him, petroleum and the power sectors provide 80 per cent of Nigeria’s revenue and over 80 per cent of foreign direct investment.

    He added that as critical as the sectors were, if the country was not positioned to supply the necessary power essential for driving the economy, the country would not make much progress.

    In a goodwill message, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, noted that the role of the judiciary in the post-privatisation period was to encourage the sector to grow.

    He said that the judiciary is to also hold parties to their contracts and ensure that the regulator does not exceed its mandate and that citizens fulfil their civic obligations.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the workshop was organised by the International Institute for Petroleum Energy Law and Policy in collaboration with the National Judicial Institute.

    The workshop was organised to draw attention to emerging issues and challenges in the energy sector and to enlighten judges on on-going reforms in the power and energy sectors of the economy.

    NAN

     

  • Recall of judges: NJC misrepresenting facts – Presidency

    The Presidency has accused the National Judicial Council (NJC) of deliberate misrepresentation of the law and facts over the recall of some suspended judges.

    In a statement issued on Monday, in Abuja, Mr Okoi Obono-Obla, Special Assistant to the President on Prosecution, said that some assertions made by the NJC on the issue were false.

    “I wish to debunk some of the assertions contained in the statement issued by Soji Oye, Director of Information, NJC, which was widely reported in the media on June 12.

    “One of such false assertions by Oye is the claim that the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation had on two occasions – April 18 and April 21- shunned invitations by the FCT High Court for settlement of records of appeal which if it had done, would have elevated the notices of appeal to proper appeal.

    “Undoubtedly, the statement of Oye is a deliberate misrepresentation of the law and facts.

    “On the contrary, the FCT High Court Registry by a notice dated 6 June signed by one Paul Edili, Head of Appeal, invited both parties to the appeal to attend court on June 14 for the purpose of reconciliation of records of appeal.

    “It goes without saying that the assertion of Oye that the Office of the Attorney -General had on two occasions, April 18, and April 21, respectively shunned the invitation of the FCT High Court Registry is not correct.”

    Obono-Obla challenged Oye to furnish the Office of the Attorney-General with proof of service of the notices that were shunned.

    “It is obvious that Oye, in his haste to defend the indefensible, muddled up the law concerning the role of an appellant and the registry of the court where an appeal emanates from.

    “In the interest of the discerning public and the need to put the record straight, I wish to state as follows:

    “By Order 8 of the Court of Appeal Rules, 2016, the Registrar of the Court below has a duty to compile and transmit the Record of Appeal to the Appeal Court.

    “This, he has 60 days to do; commencing from the day the notice of appeal is filed. And it is immaterial that parties do not attend court for purpose of settlement of the said record.

    “It is only where the registrar fails or neglects to transmit the record of appeal in accordance with Order 8, Rules 1-3, that the appellant may intervene upon the expiration of the initial 60 days, to compile and transmit the record of appeal.

    “And the appellant has additional 30 days to do so. See Order 8, Rule 4 of the Court of Appeal Rules 2016.

    “In the instant case, I am unaware of any notice for settlement of record of appeal served on the Office of the Attorney-General apart from that issued on June 6, against the June 14 date.

    “But assuming there was any notice for settlement of record of appeal, the failure of the appellant to attend court for settlement of the said record would not prevent the registrar of the lower court from performing his duty in line with Order 8, Rule 2 of the Court of Appeal Rules 2016.

    “If the notice of appeal was filed on the April 7, the Registrar of the lower court had 60 days to settle and transmit the record of appeal.

    “In fact, with the filing of additional notice of appeal on June 6, the registrar now has additional 60 days terminating on or about Aug. 6, to settle and transmit the record of appeal.

    “It is only if, and when, the registrar fails to compile and transmit the record within 60 days effective from June 6, that the appellant may step in to so do within additional 30 days.

    According to him, the NJC cannot feign ignorance of the rules of the court it supervises and the assertion that it is a total of 45 days that is allowed for compilation of record of appeal in all circumstances is false.

    He added that in the light of the foregoing, the decision of the NJC to recall Justice Adeniyi Ademola against whom there was a valid and subsisting notice of appeal was premature, ill-timed and ill-fated.

    The Federal Government arraigned Ademola, his wife and his lawyer, Mr Joe Agi (SAN), on an 18- count charge of criminal conspiracy to receive gratification in various ways on Dec. 13, 2016.

    They were discharged and acquitted by an FCT High Court on April 5.

    Ademola resumed sitting on June 7 following a directive by the NJC for him to do so.

    The NJC at its 82nd Meeting on May 31 and June 1, considered the case of eight judicial officers who were directed to excuse themselves from duties following corruption allegations against them.

    The directive was on the request of the Attorney-General of the Federation pending the outcome of investigations on their cases.

    After deliberation, the Council noted that out of those judicial officers directed to excuse themselves from performing their official duties, only three had been charged to court.

    Subsequently, the Council asked the various heads of courts to direct Ademola and five other judges to resume their judicial duties with effect from June 7.

    The step would enable the judges to attend to the backlog of cases in their various courts caused by their eight months absence, the Council explained.

    Following speculations in the media as to whether the NJC was aware that there was an appeal against the judgment that acquitted Ademola or not, Obono-Obla issued a statement saying there was an appeal on the judge’s case.

    But the NJC in a swift reaction through a statement said that there was no notice of appeal.(NAN)

     

  • BREAKING: NJC recalls Justice Ademola, five other judges accused of corruption

    BREAKING: NJC recalls Justice Ademola, five other judges accused of corruption

    The National Judicial Council has recalled a Federal High Court judge, Adeniyi Ademola, who was suspended alongside seven other judges following allegations of corruption brought against them by the federal government.

    In a statement Saturday, the council said Mr. Ademola was recalled alongside five other judges.

    Mr. Ademola and seven other judges were suspended in November 2016.

    Three of the affected judges were charged to court, but it is only Mr. Ademola’s case that has so far been concluded.

    The judge was acquitted of the charge of corruption.

    The other recalled judges are: John Inyang Okoro of the Supreme Court, Uwani Aji of the Court of Appeal; Hydiazira Nganjiwa of the Federal High Court; Musa H. Kurya of the Federal High Court; and Agbadu James Fishim of National Industrial Court of Nigeria.

    Recall that the residence of the seven judges were raided and subsequently arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) last October for alleged corruption.

    The judges, save for Justice Inyang Okoro of the Supreme Court, were then arraigned by the federal government on various corruption charges.

    However, before their arraignment, the NJC, bowing to public pressure, had asked Justice Ademola and two other judges to stop presiding over cases until they had been cleared of the corruption allegations.

    But on April 5th, Justice Jude Okeke of the Abuja High Court discharged Ademola, his wife, Olabowale and Joe Agi (SAN) who were charged with receiving gratification, diversion of huge sums of money, and illegal possession of firearms.

    After the prosecution led its evidence, the accused persons raised a no case submission which was upheld by the trial judge.

    The judge had said that the case was built on high-level suspicion and speculation, adding that it was not his job as a judge to speculate.

  • Gambian lawyers protest appointment of Nigerian Judges, vow to boycott courts indefinitely

    Gambian lawyers protest appointment of Nigerian Judges, vow to boycott courts indefinitely

    Gambia Bar Association, GBA, ha​s​​​ protested against the appointment of four Nigerian High Court judges​.

    The newly appointed Nigerian judges are Justice Edward Ogar, Justice Mathias Olusegun Agboola, Justice Simeon Abi and Justice Matins U. Okoi.

    A statement signed by Secretary-General of the association, stated that the bar association shall proceed to file an action to challenge the appointments, to seek an order quashing same and to seek necessary prohibitive relief.

    The group said its members would commence a boycott of the courts presided over by the said judges until further notice.

    ​GBA ​​however said it would engage the Judicial Services Commission and executive of the government, through the Minister of Justice, to continue the necessary dialogue and consultation for the development and protection of the administration of justice system.

    GBA ​has already fi​led a suit against the Judicial Service Commission, JSC, and Attorney-General, seeking the necessary orders from the High Court, including the suspension of the letters of appointments of the said Judges, pending the hearing of the application before the court.

    T​he lawyers said they were saddened by the fact that ​their​ ​”​hopes and aspirations that a transparent mechanism would be put in place for the appointment of qualified, eminent, independent jurists that The Gambian people have yearned for so long​”​, had not been respected.

    ​GBA warned that true justice and independence of the judiciary should not be sacrificed for speedy and superficial appearance of a functioning judiciary.