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Tag: NJC

  • NJC commences probe of 15 judges

    The National Judicial Council, NJC has commenced the investigation of 15 judges nationwide, following petitions written against them by aggrieved litigants.

    Among the judges being investigated are two Chief Judges.

    Accordingly, the NJC has constituted 15 committees to investigate various allegations in the petitions against the judges.

    NJC’s Director of Information, Soji Oye, who disclosed these in a statement on Monday, was silent on the identity of the affected judges.

    Oye said NJC constituted the committees at its 83rd meeting held in Abuja last week.

    “During the meeting the NJC considered the reports of the two Preliminary Complaints Assessment Committees (PCAC) set up to examine 46 petitions written against judges of both federal and state courts,” he said.

    According to him, the Council also agreed to recommend a Lagos-based lawyer, Adesina Ogunlana, to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (L.P.D.C.) for misconduct, for allegedly using “uncouth” language in a petition he wrote against a former Chief Judge of Lagos, Justice O. O. Atilade.

    Oye said the NJC treated as withdrawn, the petitions against Ondo State’s Acting Chief Judge, Justice O. O. Akeredolu and Justice J. T. Tsoho of the Federal High Court.

    He said the Council also issued two letters of advice to Justice M. A. Dada of the Lagos State High Court and. Justice Chukwudi Charles Okaa of the Anambra State High Court for violation of extant laws in the course of their judicial duties.

     

  • NJC appoints Justice Salami as head of corruption cases’ panel

    The National Judicial Council NJC) has appointed retired Court of Appeal President Justice Isa Ayo Salami as the head of a 15-member committee to monitor courts’ handling of corruption cases.

    The committee, named: The Corruption and Financial Crime Cases Trial Monitoring Committee (COTRIMCO), is also expected to drive the NJC’s” new policy on anti-corruption war.

    NJC’s Director of Information Soji Oye, in a statement yesterday, said the decision on the committee’s composition was taken yesterday at the NJC’s 82th meeting in Abuja.

    He said the NJC has directed heads of courts to cooperate with the committee and furnish it with information about corruption cases pending before them.

    Oye added that the NJC has also asked the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court to set aside a date every week for the hearing of appeals relating to corruption cases.

    He said the committee’s primary functions include:

    • regular monitoring and evaluation of proceedings at designated courts for financial and economic crimes nationwide;
    • advising the Chief Justice of Nigeria on how to eliminate delay in the trial of alleged corruption cases;
    • giving feedback to the council on progress of cases in the designated courts, conduct background checks on judges selected for the designated courts; and
    • evaluating the performance of the designated courts.

    Other members of the committee are Justice Kashim Zannah (Chief Judge of Borno State), Justice P. O. Nnadi (CJ, Imo), Justice Marshal Umukoro (CJ, Delta), Justice M. L. Abimbola (CJ, Oyo State), President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN) and four former NBA Presidents – Wole Olanipekun, Olisa Agbakoba, Joseph Daudu and Augustine Alegeh (all Senior Advocates).

    Others are Dr. Garba Tetengi (SAN), Mrs. R. I. Inga, representative of some non-government organisations, representative of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and NJC’s Secretary, Gambo Saleh.

     

  • [BREAKING] Full list: 19 judges approved by Osinbajo for National Industrial Court

    [BREAKING] Full list: 19 judges approved by Osinbajo for National Industrial Court

    The acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, has approved the appointment of 19 judges for the National Industrial Court.

    The approval by the Acting President was based on the recommendation made to him by the National Judicial Council.

    A statement by the NJC’s Director of Information, Mr. Soji Oye, disclosing this on Tuesday, said the new judges appointed from 19 states of the federation would be sworn-in on Friday.

    The newly appointed judges with their states of origin are, Targema John Iorngee (Benue), Namtari Mahmood Abba (Adamawa), Nweneka Gerald Ikechi (Rivers), Kado Sanusi (Katsina), Adeniyi Sinmisola Oluyinka (Ogun), Abiola Adunola Adewemimo (Osun) Opeloye Ogunbowale (Lagos), Essien Isaac Jeremiah (Akwa-Ibom) and Elizabeth Ama Oji (Ebonyi) .

    Others are, Arowosegbe Olukayode Ojo (Ondo), Ogbuanya Nelson S. Chukwudi (Enugu), Bashir Zaynab Mohammed (Niger), Galadima Ibrahim Suleiman (Nasarawa), Bassi Paul Ahmed (Borno), Danjidda Salisu Hamisu (Kano), Hamman Idi Polycarp (Taraba), Damulak Kiyersohot Dashe (Plateau), Alkali Bashar Attahiru (Sokoto), and Mustapha Tijjani (Jigawa).

    The NJC statement read in part, “They will be sworn-in by the Honourable, The Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman, National Judicial Council, Hon. Justice W. S. N. Onnoghen, GCON, on Friday, 14th July, 2017, by 3.00pm at the Supreme Court of Nigeria.”

  • 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)

     

  • Why we recalled justices, Ademola, Okoro, others – NJC

    Why we recalled justices, Ademola, Okoro, others – NJC

    The National Judicial Council (NJC) on yesterday defended its decision to recall six judges who were accused of corruption.

    The council specifically justified the recall of Justice Inyang Okoro of the Supreme Court and Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

    The NJC on June 3 had asked the judges to return to work, stating that some have been acquitted by the court while the Federal Government refused to bring up charges against others.

    NJC’s Director of Information, Soji Oye in a statement on Saturday said there was no pending and valid suits against Justices Okoro and Ademola to justify their continued suspension.

    The statement read in part, “It is to be stressed that our criminal justice is also predicated on accusatorial system and not inquisitorial.

    “Thus, every accused person is presumed to be innocent until his guilt is proved beyond reasonable doubt by the prosecution.

    “On the foregoing, the council is compelled to inform the public that the decision it took to direct the affected justices/judges to recuse themselves from performing their judicial duties was born out of respect for the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.

    “It was done in order to maintain the integrity and sanctity of the judiciary and sustain public confidence.

    “However, the recent decision of the council to recall the judicial officers was based on the principles of rule of law and fairness.

    “The council reiterates that it shall continue to support the President Buhari administration in its fight against corruption in all its ramifications in the federation.

    “We are committed to cleansing the judiciary of corrupt judicial officers, under the purview of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the principles of the rule of law enshrined therein.”

    It added that there was no other pending appeal filed by the Federal Government to challenge the acquittal of Justice Ademola by a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja.

    The NJC said the government only filed a notice of appeal.

  • NJC wrong on recall of 6 Judges – Lawyer

    NJC wrong on recall of 6 Judges – Lawyer

    A legal practitioner, Mr Okoli Ezenwa, has said the National Judicial Council (NJC) was wrong to have ordered the recall of six Judges standing trial for various corruption cases.

    TheNewsGuru.com recalls that in an action that raised various curious eyebrows, the NJC, on June 2 recalled Justices Sylvester Ngwuta of the Supreme Court, Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court and Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court.

    Others who were also on suspension but benefitted from the recall include Justices John Inyang Okoro of the Supreme Court, Uwani Abba Aji of the Court of Appeal and Hydiazira Nganjiwa of the Federal High Court.

    The judges were among those arrested after a ‘sting operation’ by the Department of State Services (DSS).

    The DSS on Oct. 7 and Oct. 8, 2016, raided of the houses of the judges and allegedly found some hard currencies said to be proceeds of corruption.

    The Abuja based Barrister Ezenwa told newsmen Wednesday in Abuja that the recall of the judges would amount to a huge moral burden on the judiciary.

    He said that in spite of the recall, the judges still had cases to answer since the judiciary remained the last hope of the common man.

    The legal practitioner said that if there were corruption allegations against any judge, he or she should be tried in the court of law.

    He advised the NJC to toe the path of honour and wait until the allegations against them were cleared by the courts.

    “So many petitions have been written against these judges and the most honourable thing to is to look at the merit of the petition before recalling them,“he said.

  • NJC promoting corruption by reinstating suspended judges – Presidency

    NJC promoting corruption by reinstating suspended judges – Presidency

    The Presidency has berated the National Judicial Council for reinstating six suspended judges who were under investigation for alleged corruption.

    The Special Adviser to the President on Prosecutions, Okoi Obono-Obla, expressed dissatisfaction with the NJC during a live television programme on Channels TV, titled ‘Sunrise Daily’ on Monday.

    No fewer than five of the judges, who were suspended in October last year, had yet to be arraigned by the Federal Government, causing the Nigerian Bar Association to demand their immediate reinstatement.

    One of the reinstated judges, Justice Adeniyi Ademola, was arraigned but the charges were struck out by the court.

    The Federal Government had filed an appeal against the ruling when the NJC reinstated him.

    Obono-Obla said the Presidency was disappointed in the NJC, alleging that the council was indirectly promoting corruption by reinstating the judges.

    He stated that the NJC was aware of the plan of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to arraign the judges but surreptitiously reinstated them.

    The Presidential aide advised the suspended judges not to resume as they would soon be arraigned.

    Obono-Obla added, “I can assure you that the NJC was aware of the intention of the EFCC to file criminal proceedings against those judges. So, why the hurry? Some of those judges also have several petitions written against them to the knowledge of the NJC so what is the hurry?

    “We were in the process of charging them to court and the NJC is aware that the EFCC was in the process of charging these judges to court and as I said earlier, there are also complaints, petitions from members of the public against these judges; so, why have they not looked into some of these petitions?

    “The impression is that they (NJC members) are trying to protect some of these judges. Apart from the criminal allegations against them, there are several petitions against these judges.

    “The NJC will just have to suspend them again. The judges should be stopped from sitting from today because they will soon be charged to court; I can assure you.”

    The President’s aide said he was particularly disappointed that the NJC reinstated Justice Ademola, whose case is still under appeal.

    He said it was unethical for the judge to preside over cases when his integrity was still in question.

    Obono-Obla added, “An appeal is not tantamount to a stay of execution but we are talking of a judge’s integrity; the reputation of the judge, the credibility of the judiciary. This is a judge whose credibility is at stake.

    “He was arraigned for allegedly collecting bribes. He was discharged and acquitted and the decision was appealed. If I were that judge, I would not sit until the appeal is heard because members of the public will not have confidence in his court and the judicial system relies on the confidence of the people.”

    Specifically, those the NJC reinstated to the bench are Justice John Okoro of the Supreme Court; Justice Uwani Abba Aji of the Court of Appeal; Justice Hydiazira Nganjiwa of the Federal High Court; Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, who has been discharged and acquitted; Justice Musa Kurya of the Federal High Court; and Justice Agbadu Fishim of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria.

  • 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.