- Directs police to arrest dismissed Kano Judge
The National Judicial Council, (NJC) has
fired the Presiding Justice, Court of Appeal, Ilorin Division, Justice
Mohammed Ladan Tsamiya, the Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice I. A.
Umezulike and a judge of the Kano State High Court, Justice Kabiru M.
Auta for breaching the Codes of Conduct for Judicial Officers.
A
statement issued yesterday in Abuja by NJC’s Acting Director of
Information, Mr. Soji Oye said the decision to sanction the justices was
taken yesterday at the council 78th meeting presided over by the
council chairman and Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed.
NJC said that the three judicial officers carried out acts that
constituted misconduct contrary to Section 292 (1) (b) of the 1999
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended and Rules
1.2 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 2.1, 3.2, 3.7, 4.1, 4.2, 8.4a, 13.1, 15.2 of the 2016
Revised Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria. While Justices Tsamiya of the Court of Appeal and the Chief
Judge of Enugu State, Umezulike were recommended for compulsory
retirement from office, Justice Auta of Kano State High Court was
dismissed from service. The council said Justice Auta be handed over to
the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 1, Kano, for
prosecution.
“The council, in the exercise of its
disciplinary powers under the 1999 Constitution as amended, has
suspended Justices Tsamiya, Umezulike and Auta from office with
immediate effect, pending the approval of the recom- mendations of the
council for their compulsory retirement and dismissal respectively, from
office by the President Muhammadu Buhari, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of
Enugu State and Governor Abdul- lahi Umar Ganduje, of Kano State,
respectively,” said the statement. The council said Justice Tsamiya of
the Court of Ap- peal was recommended for compulsory retirement pursuant
to the findings by the council in the petition written by Nnamdi Iro
Oji against him and Hon. Justices Husseini Muktar, F. O. Akinbami and J.
Y. Tukur, all Justices of Court of Appeal who sat on Election Appeal
Panel in the Owerri Division of the Court during the 2015 General
Elections.
The petitioner had accused the
justice of corruption, malice and vindictiveness; and giv- ing perverse
and conflicting decisions on the same issue in similar matters in Appeal
CA/OW/EPT/SN/50/2015: Chief Dr. David Ogba Onu- oha Bourdex Vs Hon. Mao
Onuabunwa & Anor; CA/OW/EPT/SN/47/2015: Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu &
Anor Vs Hon. Mao Ohuabunwa & Ors; and CA/OW/EPT/ HR/61/2015: Nnamdi
Iro Oji Vs Nkole Uko Ndukwe & 16 Ors. After investigating the peti-
tion, NJC cleared the two of the justices but found Justice Tsamiya
culpable. The council found that there was evidence that the petitioner
met with Justice Tsamiya thrice, in his residence in Sokoto, Abuja and
Owerri where on each occasion, he demanded from him the sum of
N200,000,000 (Two Hundred Million Naira) to influence the Court of
Appeal Panel in Owerri or risk losing the case. The council cleared the
other justices of the Court of Appeal because the allegations were not
proved against them. The council said: “That there was no allegation and
no evidence that the Petitioner ever met or discussed with Hon.
Justices Husseini Mukhtar (JCA), F. O. Akinbami(JCA) and J. Y.
Tukur(JCA) in respect of the appeal before them. “In the light of the
fore- going that Hon. Justices Husseini Mukhtar (JCA), F. O.
Akinbami(JCA) and J. Y. Tukur(JCA), were exonerated.”
The council recommended Justice
Umezulike, the Chief Judge, Enugu to the Governor of Enugu State for
compul- sory retirement sequel to the findings by the council on the
following allegations levelled against him by Barrister Peter Eze. The
Chief Judge was said to have failed to deliver judge- ment in Suit No
E/13/2008: Ajogwu V Nigerian Bottling Company Limited in which final
addresses were adopted on 23rd October, 2014. The council found that the
judgement was however delivered on 9th March, 2015, about 126 days
after addresses were adopted, contrary to constitutional provisions that
judgement should be delivered within a period of 90 days. The council
also found that Justice Umezulike in Suit No E/159M/2014, Ezeuko Vs
Probate Registrar, High Court of Enugu State and 3 Others ordered the
arrest of Mr. Peter Eze by police and be brought before his court after
the matter was amicably resolved and judgement entered on terms of
settlement. That the Hon. Chief Judge in a speech delivered by him to
the Eastern Bar Forum on Friday 4th March, 2016, openly made
un-complimentary remarks containing vulgar language against the
petitioner, contrary to Rule 1.3 of the National Judicial Council
Revised Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers. Also, the council stated
that at the time of the book launch of the Hon. Chief Judge, dona- tion
of N10 million was made by Prince Arthur Eze while two cases in which
Arthur Eze had interest were pending before his lordship.
The council also said that there had
been many instances of abuse of judicial powers, by the Chief Judge,
particularly against the two defendants in Suits Nos. E/6/2013 and
E/88/2016 and that he clung to these two suits to remain in his court
despite all genuine efforts made by the defendants to get the suits
transferred to another court. The council also found “that the Chief
Judge sitting at a vantage position of Senior Judicial Officer and Head
of Court for that matter, should not have allowed his emotions to
dictate his judicial functions to the detriment of the defendants in
both suits.” The council dismissed Justice Auta of Kano High Court and
recommended him for prosecu- tion based on a petition against him by
Alhaji Kabiru Yakassai. The council found “that the petitioner paid the
sum of N125,000,000 (One Hundred and Twenty-five Million Naira) into an
account approved by the Judge. “The petitioner also made cash payment of
N75,000,000 (Seventy-five Million Naira) to Justice Auta in several
install- ments through his Personal Assistant, Abdullahi Bello,
ostensibly for the purpose of assisting a former Chief Justice of
Nigeria who had just been appointed to secure accommo- dation and for
the petitioner to be in turn rewarded by the award of some contracts by
the said Hon. Chief Justice of Nigeria. “That Justice Auta facilitated
telephone communications in his house between the petitioner and
purportedly the former Hon. Chief Justice of Nigeria on the other end.
“That Justice Auta facilitated meetings
between the petitioner and a lady who introduced herself as the
purported Hon. Chief Justice of Nigeria in a Prado Jeep, escorted by
armed Police Officer in a hotel in Kaduna. “That after the petitioner
suspected foul play and reported the matter to the police, Justice Auta
agreed to pay the petitioner the sum of N95,000,000 (Ninety-five Mil-
lion Naira) as part of his claim while Abubakar Mahdi was to pay the sum
of N125,000,000 (One Hundred and Twenty-five Million Naira) to the
petitioner. “That pursuant to the agree- ment, Justice Auta made a part
payment of $11,000.00 (Eleven Thousand U.S. Dollars) and N16,000.000
(Sixteen Million Naira) cash to the petitioner and undertook to pay the
bal- ance before the commencement of the Fact Finding Committee set up
by the National Judicial Council to investigate the allegations. “That
Justice Auta admitted accepting to pay the money as agreed in AIG’s
Office in Kano according to him ‘hav- ing suffered humiliation, and
incarceration and had nowhere to go for help and in order to protect my
image and the image of the judiciary’. ” The council said that Justice
Auta however, said that the settlement was for him to pay N35 million
and not N95 million and that to that effect, he paid N20 million so far
including the $11,000; and that Justice Kabiru stated in his evidence,
that the purpose of the petitioner visiting his house at times was that
as a friend, he used to seek favours for his people who had matters
before him, a conduct that was in itself self-indicting and a serious
abuse of judicial oath.
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