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HomeNewsSANs back NJC’s sack of judges

SANs back NJC’s sack of judges

Three Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) yesterday hailed the National Judicial Council (NJC) for recommending the removal from office of three top judges for misconduct.

Former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) General Secretary Mr. Dele Adesina, Chief Gani Adetola-Kaseem and Dr. Paul Ananaba said it would make other judges to sit up.

On Friday, the NJC recommended the compulsory retirement of the Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal, Ilorin division, Justice Mohammed Ladan Tsamiya and the Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice I. A. Umezulike.

It also recommended the dismissal with immediate effect of Justice Kabiru M. Auta of the High Court of Justice, Kano State and his handing over to the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 1, Kano State, for prosecution.

Adesina said: “I think this will gladden the hearts of many legal practitioners.  My position has always been that of all the three organs of government, the executive, legislature and judiciary, only the judiciary is self-regulated.

“The judiciary’s regulatory system is inbuilt and that is the National Judicial Council (NJC) and it has been living up to its expectations.

“We have just seen an example of the work it has been doing to sanitise and purify, and that is very in accord with my position, because I have argued over and over again that a situation where we generalise blame, accusations or where we condemn the entire system is not the right thing to do.”

Adetola-Kaseem said there was nothing wrong with the recommendation that Justice Auta be prosecuted by the police.

He said: “People have been talking about cleansing the judiciary of corrupt and ineffective judges, so, to that extent one would say that the NJC was right to submit in this regard.

“The decisions the NJC took must have been based on the materials before it, so one cannot criticise its decisions or recommendations without the benefit of seeing those materials. I think we should give it to the NJC, they must have been satisfied.

“The NJC is made up largely of judges, the chairman is the Chief Justice of Nigeria and most of its members are judges or senior lawyers, so they must have been satisfied that the judges whom they have recommended for retirement or dismissal must have merited it by whatever they have done.”

Adetola-Kaseem added that although it was unfortunate that it was senior judges that were found wanting, the law must take its course.

He said: “It’s unfortunate though, because some of them are very senior judges like the Chief Judge of Enugu, I think his retirement should be very close and I’m aware he has been a member of the judiciary for almost 30 years.

“But it is one of those things and, in fact, it will send the right signal to other judges when very senior judges, like a state Chief Judge, a justice of the Court of Appeal, are affected.

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“They will know that it is no joke and there’s no hiding place for any misbehaviour or misconduct by judges of whatever cadre or seniority.”

He stated that not all judges that are corrupt, “but the few that are make a negative impact on the public perception of the judiciary and the judicial process.”

Ananaba praised the NJC for living up to its expectations but urged it to find ways to explain the reasons for its decision to judges, so they would not become unable to properly perform their duties for fear of sack.

He explained that this was because the punishment meted on the three judges extended beyond mere removal. “They can no longer practice law.”

“NJC is now living up to its expectations although they should also guard against frightening judges. That shouldn’t be the theme, but it is good that judges are going to sit up now and be conscious of their ethics.

“There should also be more judges’ conferences and retreats where they will review the basis of their actions, so that judges will be convinced that these people were not removed or recommended for sack out of grounds that are merely to put fear.

“They would know that their removal was the right thing to do at those stages,” Ananaba said.

He said the trio’s removal would make judges realise that it was no longer business as usual.

“This balance needs to be maintained: as much as it is important to remove erring judges, it is also important to ensure that judges have their independence and mete out justice without fear or favour.

“In all, I doff my hat to the NJC, judges will now that when you contravene your oath of office and ethics, you are not likely to go free and even though you went from the Bar to the Bench.

“If you are removed in those circumstances, you can no longer come back to practice law, you can no longer be a lawyer,” Ananaba said.

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