The National Judicial Council (NJC), led by Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun, is set to hold a crucial meeting to consider reports on allegations of misconduct against serving judicial officers.
This meeting, the first quarterly meeting under Justice Kekere-Ekun’s leadership and the last for the year, has sparked tension in the judiciary following the new Chief Justice’s vow to take action against errant judicial officers.
Recall that between May and August 2024, 22 petitions were filed against 27 serving judges of federal and state high courts. The NJC’s Preliminary Complaints Assessment Committee examined these petitions and dismissed 18 due to lack of merit, abandonment, or being subjudice. Additionally, eight panels were established in June 2024 to investigate judges for alleged judicial misconduct, with only eight petitions found meritorious.
Further investigations led to the establishment of four more panels on August 15, 2024, to probe judges with prima facie cases. Each panel consists of a chairman and two Council members. The affected judges were given until October 31, 2024, to respond, with some requesting extensions.
“I can tell you that the Chief Justice is eagerly awaiting the reports of the various panels earlier constituted to probe sundry allegations of misconduct against the judicial officers to enable her to act decisively on them,” a source said.
“As soon as the Chief Justice is back in the country, the last quarterly meeting of the NJC would be fixed for the reports of the different panels investigating the affected judges to be taken.
“I think cases will be differently handled this time and I think this new CJN will recalibrate, in no time, the perception of the judiciary and its legitimacy,” the source added.
Top lawyers, including Chiefs Mike Ahamba, Awa Kalu, Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, and Samuel Jibrin Okutepa, have urged the NJC to address the crisis in Rivers State stemming from conflicting orders by two high court judges on local council elections. They describe the current practice of judges struggling for jurisdiction in political cases as embarrassing and detrimental to the judiciary’s integrity.
In May, under former Chief Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, three judges granted conflicting orders in the Kano emirship dispute, leaving the emirate with two substantive emirs. Despite Chief Justice Ariwoola’s intervention, none of the judges were sanctioned.
Similarly, shortly after Justice Kekere-Ekun assumed her position as Chief Justice, new conflicting orders emerged in Rivers State concerning local council elections. Judges Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja and Justice Chigozie Igwe of the Rivers State High Court issued opposing rulings, which led to confusion and unrest.
With the new Chief Justice vowing to restore sanity, it is expected that cases will be handled differently this time.