The Nation Newspaper

Tag: CJN

  • Group urges CJN to probe Okeke’s allegation against Ogunbiyi

    Group urges CJN to probe Okeke’s allegation against Ogunbiyi

    The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar has been urged to probe the alleged interference of the course of justice leveled against Justice Clara Ogunbiyi of the Supreme Court by a retired federal high court judge, Justice Okechukwu Okeke at his valedictory ceremony.A statement by a group of Lagos elites, Lagos Collectives ( LC) and signed by its chairman, Professor Tejumade Akitoye-Rhodes, challenged the CJN, to take a bold and immediate step to look into the allegation to save the nation’s judiciary from ridicule.

    The group, in its statement issued yesterday in Lagos, said the silence by Justice Ogunbiyi on a serious allegation coming from a High Court Judge, meant a lot for the reputations of the nation’s judiciary.  “We at the Lagos Collectives respectfully demand that Chief Justice Mariam Aloma- Mukhtar should as a matter of public urgency set up a powerful panel of enquiry to carefully look into the allegations and summon those who are mentioned in order to arrive at the truth and clear the highest court  itself of possible complicity in the perversion of justice. LC noted that the allegation made by Justice Okeke is “an abuse of office that cannot and must not be swept under the carpet.”

    The group emphasised that the Judiciary is a significant leg of the nation’s democratic tripod, “once this leg is vitiated, the doomsday is near” It said adding  “this is the only way that the public will take the Chief Justice as being serious and above board in her present crusade of riding the judiciary of corrupt practices. Nothing short of this will “ , the group said.

    The LC stated that any further  silence on the matter basically call into question the integrity of the Nigerian Judiciary.”If any sitting judge of the highest court in the land can randomly and recklessly interfere in the process of justice to suit personal whim and caprices then this is really a mockery of the so called cleansing exercise that the Chief Justice herself has vowed to pursue.” ”Justice Okeke’s allegation is quite detailed,  very exhaustive in narration with specific names, dates  and probing circumstantial illustrations”, it said.

    Justice Okeke , during the valedictory session in his honour, had claimed that his travail started from Justice Ogunbiyi’s  anger for granting an order on March 6, 2013, to the federal government owned AMCON over the forfeited assets of Mrs Cecilia Ibru,  which he said invariably affected Justice Ogunbiyi’s daughter.

    The judge alleged  that Justice Ogunbiyi sent her daughter, one Funke Ogunbiyi to his office with a directive that he should vacate the order granting the take over of the Ibru’s  properties, one of which an in-inlaw of the Supreme Court justice lives.Justice Okeke again claimed that on March 8, 2013, same Funke Ogunbiyi , who claimed to be the daughter of the Supreme Court judge came to his chambers telling him to vacate the orders at her mother’s directives.”

    These, indeed, are very grave and stunning allegations which were made in public purview. The accused and accuser are very much alive. Justice  Ogunbiyi has not publicly denied the allegations,” it added.

     

  • CJN urges new judges to resist illegal wealth

    The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Aloma Mukthar, yesterday urged judges to resist the temptation of acquiring and hoarding wealth at all cost.

    She gave the advice in an address she delivered at the swearing-in of the 12 newly- appointed judges of the National Industrial Court (NIC) in Abuja.

    On May 14, President Goodluck Jonathan approved the appointment of 12 new judges for the court.

    The approval followed the recommendation of the National Judicial Council (NJC) under the chairmanship of the CJN.

    The judges are: Mrs. Edith Agbakoba, Mr. Waziri Abali, Mrs. Rabi Gwandu, Mr. Lawal Mani, Mrs. Olufunke Anuwe, Mr. Dele Peters, Mrs. Oyejoju Oyewumi and Mrs. Rakiya Haastrup.

    Others are: Mr. Amadi Ikechukwu, Mrs. Antonia Ubaka, Mr. Peter Lifu and Mr. Ebeye Isele.

    Justice Mukthar said: “As judicial officers, series of temptations will surely come, but the ability to resist them will definitely stand you out and earn you a lasting reputation.

    “You must be reluctant in condescending from your lofty positions to acquire and hoard wealth by all means.

    “You must also ensure that you are men of probity and impeccable character.

    “No aspect of your conduct should give cause for concern. You must show the highest sense of discipline, honesty, integrity, diligence and dedication to duty as well as good behaviour.”

  • Judicial cleansing: Nobody is witch-hunting any person, says CJN

    Judicial cleansing: Nobody is witch-hunting any person, says CJN

    •Fashola, Fayemi, Wali call for solution to nation’s woes

     

    The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Muktar, yesterday said the ongoing reforms of the National Judicial Council (NJC) was aimed at overhauling the judiciary, and not to witch-hunt or disparage anybody’s office.

    Justice Muktar, who spoke at the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Rule of Law Action Group held in Lagos, said the NJC was bent on doing everything possible to ensure a credible judiciary.

    “No sacrifice is out of place,” she said.

    At the workshop, with the theme: “The rule of law: bedrock for sustainable democracy and development”, were Lagos Governor, Babatunde Fashola; Ekiti Governor Kayode Fayemi, represented by the Attorney-General, Wale Fagbohungbe; NBA President Okey Wali; Keynote Speaker Justice C.C. Nweze of the Court of Appeal, Lagos; Chief Judge of Lagos Justice Ayotunde Philips; former Attorney-General of the Federation Justice Bola Ajibola; former Inspector-General of Police Sunday Ehindero; former NBA presidents Oliseh Agbakoba and Joseph Daudu (SAN) as well as Chairman, Rule of Law Action Group, Dele Adesina, among others.

    The CJN, who urged every judicial officer to participate in the establishment, maintenance, enforcement and observance of a high standard of conduct to preserve the integrity and respect of the judiciary, noted that there is no reason a judicial officer, who sits at trials should not be tried in deserving cases.

    She added: “A person who cannot follow must not lead and a person who cannot practise incorruptibility must not sit at judgment over others and find it humiliating to stand trial.”

    Decrying practices by the litigants and lawyers in using petitions to the NJC as an alternative to appeal their cases, Mukthar said: “I am the Chief Justice of Nigeria and not the Chief Justice of Petition.”

    She went on: “This has led to an influx of frivolous petitions before the NJC. On my assumption of office as the CJN and Chairman of the NJC, I inherited 139 petitions, 106 of which were vexatious or baseless. Only 33 of the petitions were considered worthy of attention.

    “After my assumption, 198 fresh petitions were filed. Of this number, 150 were found to be frivolous, 15 are awaiting responses from judges and only 21 were slated for consideration.

    “We must remain conscious that anybody, who raises an allegation of corruption against a judicial officer, must be ready to substantiate same. Any person, who also offers baseless allegations must in line with the relevant statutes, be made to face the law.

    “The NBA and the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) must be on the alert to sanction disgruntled members of the bar, who use themselves as conduits to transmit different forms of inducements or induce judicial officers.”

    Fashola, who said he shelved his weekly executive council meeting to attend the programme, added that he had the understanding that without law, council meetings meant nothing.

    Adopting the views earlier aired by the Lagos CJ, Fashola called for the abolition of the common law, noting that it is not apt for the Nigerian situation.

    He said: “You cannot have civil society without having laws that are obeyed at all times. It is the duty of the bar and bench to ensure that these laws are obeyed.

    “Everything seems to have gone haywire in this country. We are aware of the recent kidnapping of the wife and daughter of a justice of the Supreme Court. What are we coming to in Nigeria? It is time to stop theorising and come to terms with the realities. There is no point quoting theories and jurists.

    “We have to formulate Nigerian policies to deal with Nigerian problems. The ball is now in our court; let us be proactive and think out of the box.”

    Fayemi called on the National Assembly to pass the amended Police Act and Prisons Act before it, noting that the present police should not be expected to meet the security needs of Nigerians.

    He said: “Discussions must be made on the need to revisit the criminal justice system and impact on the sustainability of our democracy, because the situation is now one of national security.”

    Wali decried the continuous nose-diving of the budget for the judiciary, while that of the executive and legislature keeps appreciating.

    He said the country is fraught with corruption, disobedience of court orders, insecurity and lack of development, adding: “It is a fact that our great country is bedevilled by the prevalence of the culture of impunity in all sectors of the society.”

    Wali said the NBA was determined to deal with the corruption and indiscipline at the Bar. He recalled the recent de-rob of five lawyers as well as suspension of two others.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Why bad governance thrives, by CJN

    Why bad governance thrives, by CJN

    RISING violence, abuse of constitutional provisions and disrespect for the rule of law are responsible for bad governance, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, has said.

    The CJN noted that internal displacement was becoming a common phenomenon nationwide as against what was the practice in the past.

    She blamed the trend on increasing cases of communal crises, political and religious violence; forced eviction and flooding.

    The CJN spoke in Abuja yesterday at the opening of a workshop on “Refugee Law” for judges and Khadis, organised by the National Judicial Institute (NJI).

    Justice Mukhtar argued that although it was necessary to address the needs and welfare of victims of social strives and natural disasters – refugees and internally displaced, it was better to avoid situations that produce such vulnerable groups.

    Her words: “This is an area where the political class must be up and doing. And I hold the view that good governance, respect for fundamental rights of citizenry as stipulated in the Constitution and strict obedience to the rule of law will promote peace rather than internal displacement and refugee crisis.”

    NJI Administrator Justice Umaru Eri said the workshop, the first of which was held last year, was intended to contribute to the development of Refugee Law in the country.

    He praised the country’s efforts in the enactment of laws to protect refugees and internally displaced persons.

    Eri expressed delight that the country has ratified the basic international instruments on the protection of refugees at the international and regional levels.

    He said: “Nigeria has also gone further by enacting the National Commission for Refugees Act 1989 Cap N21 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 mainly to safeguard the interest and treatment of persons seeking political asylum in Nigeria and other matters thereto.

    “This has further been complimented by the establishment of a commission to address refugee matters in Nigeria.”

    States’ Chief Judges; Grand Khadis of Shariah Courts of Appeal and Presidents of Customary Courts of Appeal are participants at thefour-day workshop, which has “Addressing the needs and welfare of refugees and internally displaced persons” as its theme.

     

  • CJN reads the riot act to judges

    CJN reads the riot act to judges

    Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Aloma Mariam Mukhtar is determined to grab a prominent space in Nigeria’s judicial history. Sworn in as the 13th indigenous Chief Justice of Nigeria in July last year, she has since taken a few decisive steps and made many radical statements worthy of attention. One such statement was made early this week when she declared open a refresher course on judgment writing and delivery organised by the National Judicial Institute (NJI) for judicial officers nationwide. Judges, she observed, had become the butt of jokes nationwide on account of the decline in quality and quantity of their judgments. “A judge should write judgment in a simple and unambiguous manner such that it leaves no one in doubt as to what the judgment has addressed,” she advised. According to her, some judges wrote judgments either to exhibit their obsession with judicial jargons or to purposely create ambiguities for the mischievous to exploit.

    She is probably right, for lawyers and judges have a tendency to immerse themselves in deliberate arcana, sometimes mystifying themselves and getting entangled in complicated verbosity, thereby requiring the services of an impatient senior judge to cut through the maze. But let us hope that in the campaign for simplicity, the renascent Lord Dennings (as in Beswick v. Beswick) would not forsake the profound veneer and logical complexities that have set jurisprudence apart from other less esoteric disciplines and given oomph and meaning to the phrase “my learned friend.” But nothing can detract from the engaging idea Justice Mukhtar tried to communicate to her audience at the NJI workshop: that justice must not only be done, but that it must be seen to be done, with no cumbersomeness of fact, logic or language. In fact her asseveration was in tune with the drastic and unexpected step she took late February under the aegis of the National Judicial Council (NJC) when she approved the sacking of two judges, to wit, Justices Charles Archibong of the Lagos Division of the federal high court and Thomas Naron of the Plateau state high court. The CJN also referred a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Otunba Kunle Kalejaiye to the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) for disciplinary action.

    The public, which the CJN referred to as a barometer for sound judgments, may, however, have made up its mind on just how nearly impossible it is to bring far-reaching reforms to the judiciary, especially because the judiciary is part of a society that has lost its moral compass. The public views the impasse in the reinstatement of Justice Ayo Salami of the Court of Appeal as a better barometer not only of the lack of rectitude of the judicial branch but also a measure of the lack of will of judicial officers to dispense justice in difficult and excruciating circumstances. Shortly after she assumed office, the CJN attempted an activist and moralistic approach to the Salami impasse, like Justice Dahiru Musdapher before her, but met a brick wall in the Jonathan presidency. Justice Mukhtar will probably wisely concentrate on other less controversial areas of sanitising the judiciary, and severely avoid issues that deal with judicial independence.

    Though her effort on the Salami case foundered, the CJN at least indicated her admirable perspective on sanitising the judiciary and helping it to regain respect in the estimation of the public. She will press on in battling such malaises as are within her gentle reach, and she will do battle with style and grace. Under her watch, more judges will be made to shape up or ship out, and perhaps the quality of jurisprudence will inch up somewhat. But it is hard to see the quantum of improvements, both in quality and volume, that the CJN expects manifesting soon. This column will back her, as long as she follows her own counsel by giving those accused of indiscretions fair hearing. (Justice Archibong’s supporters, it will be recalled, claimed he was not given fair hearing). But at the risk of being described as a pessimist, Hardball will be unwilling to hazard a guess that the CJN will make a substantial dent on the malfeasances that have undermined the judiciary, for that sector is neither insulated from the rest of the society nor, because of decades of practiced compromise with the system, does it show any eagerness to live, like Caesar’s wife, above suspicion.

  • CJN and judges

    CJN and judges

    • The ax awaiting six judges is a good sign for the Nigerians court

    The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, has shown courage in tackling the rot in the judiciary, and deserves commendation. The praise is in her capacity as chairman of the National Judicial Council (NJC) saddled by the constitution with the responsibility of disciplining judges. Uncharacteristically, the NJC has in the past few weeks sacked two high court judges for complicity in the matters that came before them. Indeed, her predecessor, Justice Kastina-Alu, was severely criticised during his tenure as CJN, particularly for turning into a the NJC into cesspool craven morality, corruption charges, supine subservience to the executive branch, thereby making the supposedly august body ineffective in dealing with cases of misconduct among judges.

    But it appears Justice Mukhtar is set to wield the big stick to clean up the judiciary. Among the two judges, Justice Thomas Naron was sacked for his demeaning relationship with Olagunsoye Oyinlola’s counsel appearing before him, while Governor Rauf Aregbesola sought to reclaim his mandate as governor of the state of Osun. Justice Charles Archibong on his part was sacked for his role in discharging and acquitting Mr. Festus Akingbola, former chief executive of Intercontinental Bank, in scandalous circumstances. The big news is that six other judges would soon be sanctioned for their misconduct in the performance of their duties. It is believed that Justice Abubakar Talba, who recently sent shock waves across the country for a lenient sentence handed over to Mr. John Yusuf who stole N32 billion pension fund, is among those over whom the ax looms.

    In congratulating Justice Mukhtar on her strong leadership of the NJC, we must ask her to show similar strength in rendering justice to Justice Ayo Salami, the removed President of the Court of Appeal. Interestingly, by her own findings as chairman of an investigating panel, Justice Salami deserves to be saved from the meddlesome impudence of the executive arm of government. We also urge her to set clear templates for judicial conduct, especially with respect to election petition tribunals. Such clear standards must also apply to the general conduct of judges, especially in the trial of corruption cases and terrorists’, the two major scourges of modern-day Nigeria.

    We have no doubt that the CJN is experienced enough to understand that the rule of law is critical to the survival of democracy. Whether as individuals or corporations, the rule of law is germane to the protection of life and property, which our constitution has eminently defined as the very essence of government. Judges remain the fulcrum of these noble intentions of a social contract between the government and the people. It follows that they must be incorruptible for the society to be peaceful.

    It is also important that the other arms of government extend the necessary support to the NJC and its leadership. One of the best ways to show support for the judiciary is through obedience to the judgments of the court. Another way is by resisting the temptation to intimidate judges or meddle in their affairs. In spite of the fact that our judiciary is not yet federalised, it is important that the president and governors continue to evince support and understanding to the NJC in its effort to sanitise the judiciary. As shown in the case of Naron and Archibong, the executive has a role to play in the effort to save our judiciary from debilitating corruption.

    We also note that some of the corrupt judges could have been weeded out before appointment if there was thoroughness in the selection process. The selection process must therefore be stripped of cronyism and corrupt influences. One way to help the process is to expose potential appointees to the scrutiny of the public and ask their colleagues for input.

  • Jonathan, CJN, Fashola, Dangote for book launch

    A book, The Attorney-General: Chronicles and Perspectives, which looks at the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) will be launched on March 23, in Lagos.

    The book is dedicated to Nigeria’s longest serving AGF and Minister of Justice, and retired judge of the World Court, Prince Bola Ajibola(SAN).

    The foreword was written by a retired Chief Justice of Nigeria(CJN), Justice S.M.A. Belgore.

    The book features varying perspectives of the office of the AGF, its demands, impacts and challenges.

    The Managing Director, Law Pavillion Mr Ope Olugasa, said the book, which impacts on the direction and quality of justice  also chronicles the lives and contributions of Nigeria’s past AGs.

    The Chief Justice of Nigeria(CJN) Hon. Justice Aloma Mukhtar is expected to chair the launch.

    The chief launcher is Alhaji Aliko Dangote and the co-launchers include Dr. Oba Otudeko and Chief(Dr.) Molade Okoya Thomas while Mr Awa Kalu (SAN) will review the book.

    Those expected as special guests include President Goodluck Jonathan, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola; his Ogun State counterpart, Senator Ibikunle Amosun and the AGF and Minister for Justice, Mr Mohammed Bello Adoke.

  • ‘Eso was a man among men’

    ‘Eso was a man among men’

    • Soyinka, CJN, others extol jurist

    The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has called for the amendment of the Federal Character provision that a married woman must continue to be regarded as being from her state of origin in national appointments.

    NBA President Okey Wali (SAN) made the call during a special court session in honour of the late Kayode Eso by the Supreme Court. “The NBA calls on the National Assembly to as a matter of urgent National importance effect amendment of Paragraph 2 of Part II of the Federal Character Commission (Establishment, e.t.c.) Act Subsidiary Legislation,” Wali said.

    The paragraph states: “A married woman shall continue to lay claim to her state of origin for the purpose of implementation of the Federal Character Formulae at the national level’’.

    Wali said the provision is against equity, good conscience and natural justice to expect a woman who has been married for decades to get national appointment from her state of birth, called her state of origin, by this Act.

    He faulted the National Assembly for asking Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Maryam Mukhtar to swear in Justice Ifeoma Jombo-Ofo.

    She was not sworn in because her place of origin (Anambra) is different from her husband’s state (Abia) where she had been serving as a judge.

    Wali said the lawmakers’ “directive” to the CJN was a “mis-step” which would be forgiven for its good intentions though ill-informed.

    According to him, the CJN acted in accordance with the law when she did not swear in Jombo-Ofo.

    Wali said: “Rather than, the last mis-step in issuing directives to the judiciary, which we excuse, as we believe that they were motivated by the best of intentions, but apparently without information, we urge the National Assembly to amend the law.

    “It would be most sacrilegious to expect the Chief justice of Nigeria, to act in breach of the law, against her oath of office to uphold the constitution and laws of the land.”

    Wali described Eso as an apostle of true federalism, regretting that Nigeria was still far from getting it right.

    “Nigerian federalism has been diluted to the point of being unrecognisable as a federal system.

    “Following the unified command structure of the military, military regimes in Nigeria, while retaining the names Federal Republic of Nigeria and Federal Government of Nigeria frankly ran Nigeria as a unitary state.

    “Yet, even under those coercive and dictatorial regimes, Kayode Eso was able to insist that ‘the bedrock of federalism lies in each tier of government being a master in it’s domain’

    “Under the freshly installed civilian Shagari Administration, Kayode Eso wrote in Attorney General of Ogun State v Attorney-General of the Federation: ‘Each of the States Legislative Assemblies and the National Assembly is sovereign in its House.’”

    Wali re-iterated his stance that one area which has witnessed serial violations of the rights of the Nigerian people is in the area of internal security.

    He said: “Thousands of persons have lost their lives on account of bombings and destruction associated with the current insurgency in Nigeria.

    “Thousands of persons have been displaced and properties worth billions of naira destroyed.

    “We now have more orphans and widows who cannot explain the offence their loved ones committed that led to their death.

    “Insurgents with no clearly defined mission and ideology have unleashed mindless destruction of innocent lives and property and the situation does not seem to be abating.

    “We call on all individuals and organisations with any form of grievance to table those grievances for public discussion.

    “Targeting innocent persons and their properties in a mindless orgy of violence can only create a lawless society and can never lead to political and economic progress.

    “On the other hand, hundreds of insurgents have been extra judicially executed.

    “Hundreds of insurgents have been detained for over one year in various detention centres operated by the Military, the State Security Service and other military and paramilitary formations with no prospect of a trial.

    “It seems therefore that while the insurgents are violating the rights of the Nigerian people through extra-judicial executions and mindless bombings, the security agencies have also been engaged in extra judicial executions and unlawful and unconstitutional detention of insurgents.”

    Wali said even the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Mohammed Adoke (SAN) had expressed his anxieties about extra-judicial killings and flagrant violation of rights of citizens.

    The NBA President said: “The NBA hereby calls on the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation, to please take the next necessary step of ensuring the investigation of all allegations of extra-judicial executions and torture levelled against the various branches of the security agencies, and ensure prosecution of culprits.

    “Our country must at all times be a country built on Rule of Law and due process.

    “We assure the AGF of the co-operation of the NBA in this exercise.

    “The NBA also calls on the National Assembly to expedite action on the passage of pending criminal justice bills at the National Assembly, particularly the amendment to the Terrorism Act.

    “It must be hands on for all concerned. As our contribution to finding solution to the problems of insecurity in our country, the NBA Summit on peace and security is slated for the 30th and 31st of January, 2013.”

    Wali said the association is in support of Justice Mukhtar with regards to her abiding by the law as regards the swearing in of Justice Jombo-Ofo.

    “The NBA congratulates, commends and stands in support of His Lordship the CJN for upholding the laws of the land.

    “May that day never come, when we will be at liberty to pick between good and bad laws to be obeyed or flouted.

    “All laws of the land are to be obeyed, unless and until amended or repealed.”

    The association condolled with the Eso family.

    Wali said: “I titled my speech ‘Kayode Eso- Nothing to Add’ because the jurist we celebrate today never needed prefixes or suffixes to his name to underline his importance. His name was always enough.

    “He was Honourable Justice Kayode Eso JSC, but if you called his name without the prefix and suffix, you did him no harm.

    “He was Kayode Eso LLD, but

    just say the name without those honorary letters.

    “He was Dr Kayode Eso, but he never used that prefix. His name was always enough.

    “His name alone evoked honour and learning. His name drew standing ovations wherever he went.

    “I give the condolences of the NBA, to his widow, his immediate and extended families.

    “The NBA mourned Kayode Eso with these words, ‘‘He would be remembered as the man who not only brought courage, judicial activism and fearlessness upon his job as Judicial Officer, but also as the man who placed the legal profession on a pedestal of integrity and dignity.

    “This is indeed a great loss, to the legal profession and the country, but we must thank God for his gift, and worthy life.

    “The challenge is for us to sustain his legacy.

    “Wole Soyinka, another Nigerian whose name is enough, mourned Kayode Eso with these words: ‘At the feast of afterlife . . . Kayode Eso will be seated, in a place of high honour.’

    “Wole Soyinka and Kayode Eso were related, in the Emersonian sense.

    “Like Denning, Soyinka met Eso in court. Unlike Denning, Soyinka did not sit with Eso as a brother judge. Soyinka stood upright in the dock.

    “Eso sat upright on the bench. Eso looked into Soyinka’s soul. Soyinka stared at the bench, taking the measure of the jurist.

    “The mystery gunman and the mystery lawman gazed at each other. Neither blinked. They were related- they were fearless souls.

    “Soyinka was the mystery gunman defendant in a criminal trial over which Eso presided.

    “They recognised in each other an

    indefatigable compatriot determined to advance their nation’s march to civilisation.

    “Soyinka saw in Eso an incorruptible judge, an upright judge who rejected compromise and pursued justice.

    “Wole Soyinka’s intellectual forerunner, William Shakespeare, /prefigured Kayode Eso when he wrote: ‘His life was gentle; and the elements So mixed in him, that Nature might stand up And say to all the world, THIS WAS A MAN!

     

  • Senate asks CJN to swear in dropped A/ Court nominee

    Senate asks CJN to swear in dropped A/ Court nominee

    The Senate on Wednesday called on the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Maryam Muktar, to swear in Justice Ifeoma Jombo-Ofo as a judge of the Court of Appeal forthwith.

    Jombo-Ofo was dropped from the list of judges sworn in by the CJN on Monday on the grounds that she was not from Abia State even though she is married to a man from that state.

    The Senate’s resolution followed a motion by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu.

    He said that Jombo-Ofo was nominated a judge of the Court of Appeal by the National Judicial Council (NJC) having gone through the due process.

    Ekweremadu noted that Muktar, who refused to administer the oath of office on Jombo-Ofo, was the same person who presided over the processes that cleared her.

    He said it was surprising that Jombo-Ofo was denied the oath even though the 11 other judges were sworn in.

    “The practical implication of the decision of the CJN is that Nigerian women have lost all they have struggled for over the years and Nigeria will be taken 100 years back.

    “It also shows that once a woman is married outside her community, local government area or state, she cannot aspire to any position (appointive or elective) in her husband’s community.

    “It is also very unlikely that she will secure such position in her place of origin since she has been married out,” the News Agency of Nigeria quoted Ekweremadu as saying on the issue.

    In his contribution, the Leader of the Senate, Sen. Victor Ndoma-Egba, noted that this was a bad development for women, particularly at a time when a woman was the CJN.

    According to Ndoma-Egba, the implication of this is that rather than being on the part of progress, the country is retrogressing.

    “Once upon a time in this nation, we had Kalu Anya as the Chief Judge of Borno State, a Yoruba man was Attorney- General of Borno and the then Secretary to the State Government was also a non-indigene.

    “Today, three decades after, we are being told that an Igbo woman will not have opportunity in another part of Igbo land. I think we are retrogressing,’’ Ndoma- Egba said.

     

  • CJN tasks justices on public confidence

    CJN tasks justices on public confidence

     

    The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mukhtar, said on Wednesday in Abuja that the Supreme Court had the onerous task of sustaining public confidence in Judiciary.

    The CJN said this in her address at the swearing-in ceremony of two justices, Kumai Akaahs and Stanley Alagoa, as justices of the court.

    “The task of service in the Supreme Court as you are aware is, indeed, demanding but I am confident that you are both equal to the task given your track record and past experiences.

    “We have taken off on the threshold of a viable judiciary that will command public confidence and the time to give up is not anytime soon.

    “I implore you to disregard every consideration and always be faithful to your oath of office, observe the Code of Conduct for judicial officers and most importantly, your conscience,’’ she said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that with their inclusion, the justices on the Supreme bench are now 17.

    The swearing of the justices followed the retirement of Justices Dahiru Musdapher and Francis Tabai.