August 16, (THEWILL) – The National Judicial Council (NJC) has constituted panels to investigate 27 High Court Judges for alleged judicial misconduct.
A statement signed by its Director of Information, Soji Oye, said the Council also issued a warning to Justice O. M. Olagunju, a Judge of the Oyo State High Court, over uncouth language in a letter he addressed to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola.
Justice Olagunju had challenged the decision of the NJC and its Policy Direction on the appointment of the President of the Oyo State Customary Court of Appeal.
The decision taken at the 106th meeting of the Council chaired by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ariwoola follows the consideration of a report of its Preliminary Complaints Assessment Committee on 22 petitions written against 27 Judicial Officers of the Federal and State High Courts.
While the Council empanelled four Committees to investigate 27 judges whose petitions against them it found meritorious, 18 other petitions that were written against other judges were discountenanced for lacking in merit.
According to the statement, petitions that were discountenanced included those against Hon. Justice Monica B. Dongban-Mensem, President Court of Appeal: Hon. Justices E. O. Williams Dawodu, B. A. Georgewill, Yargata Timpar, S. D. Samchi, Aisha B. Aliyu, A. A. Aderibigbe, M. L. Shuaibu, H. A. O. Abiru and Abdulazeez Waziri all of the Court of Appeal.
Others include petitions against Hon. Justice John Tsoho, Chief Judge, Federal High Court; Hon. Justices Z. B. Abubakar, James. Kolawole Omotosho, and Sunday B. Onu all of the Federal High Court as well as Justice Okon E. Abang when he was serving at the Federal High Court.
Also, petitions against Hon. Justice Kayode Agunloye of the FCT High Court, Hon. Justice Babagana Karumi of the High Court Borno State, Hon. Justice Maimuna A. Abubakar of the High Court of Niger State, Hon. Justice A. A. Aderibigbe of Osun State High Court and Hon. Justice Aisha B. Aliyu of Nasarawa State High Court were thrown out.
Meanwhile, the NJC has placed five Judges on its pre-sanction Watch List Register for poor performance. The affected judges would be recommended for appropriate sanctions if they fail to improve their performance, the statement added.
