The National Judicial Council (NJC) has suspended three High Court judges for one year without pay over various acts of judicial misconduct and placed several others under disciplinary watch.
Those suspended are Justice Jane Inyang of the Court of Appeal, Uyo Division; Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja Division; and Justice Aminu Baffa Aliyu of the Federal High Court, Zamfara Division.
Justice Inyang was found guilty of violating Rule 3(5) of the Revised Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers by issuing inappropriate ex-parte orders during his tenure at the Federal High Court, Uyo, before his elevation to the Court of Appeal. The orders were related to the sale of Hon. Udeme Esset’s petrol station and other businesses at an interlocutory stage of the suit marked FHC/UY/CS/46/2023.
Justice Ekwo was similarly sanctioned for misconduct in Charge No. FHC/ABJ/CR/184/2021, where he delivered a ruling without hearing the parties. The NJC found he ignored an application to set aside court proceedings conducted in the absence of parties, thereby breaching Rules 3.1 and 3.3 of the 2016 Code of Conduct. In addition to his suspension, he has been placed on a five-year watchlist and barred from elevation for the same period.
Justice Aminu Baffa Aliyu was also found guilty of judicial misconduct in Suit No. FHC/GS/CS/30/2021, involving the Government of Zamfara State and the EFCC. He was faulted for restraining security agencies from performing their duties and disregarding judicial precedents. He has been placed on a three-year watchlist and barred from promotion during this period.
In related decisions, the NJC issued a caution letter to Justice A. O. Awogboro of the Federal High Court, Lagos, over a petition filed in a case involving Chief Adesanya Musediku and the Assistant General of Police, Onikan, Zone 2.
Other disciplinary matters were either deferred or dismissed. Petitions against Justices Othman A. Musa, C. N. Mbonu Nwenyi, and R. B. Haastrup were either put in abeyance or struck out for lack of merit or withdrawal by the petitioners. A second petition against Justice Ekwo was also deferred pending the outcome of an appeal.
The Council revealed it had received 43 petitions, dismissed 29 for lack of merit, and set up nine investigative panels to probe 27 judicial officers over various allegations.
Three petitions—against Justices Abubakar Babashani, Isaac Essien, and A. O. Musa—were also put on hold pending appellate court decisions.
On judicial appointments, the NJC dismissed a petition filed by Mahmud Aliyu challenging the 2022 selection process for judges in Zamfara State. The petitioner was found to have submitted false allegations as a disqualified candidate and has been barred from future judicial appointment exercises.
Another petition by Abdullahi Liman, challenging the 2021 recruitment of Federal High Court judges, was dismissed for being statute-barred under the NJC’s six-month rule. A separate petition concerning the Oyo State Judicial Service Commission was declared moot.
The Council accepted the voluntary retirement of Justice Babatunde Ahmed Ademola Bakre and approved the name change of Justice I. A. Osayande to Justice I. A. Dika of the Edo State High Court.
In a significant policy shift, the NJC announced that the names of nominees for appointment as judicial officers to superior courts will henceforth be published for public input and scrutiny
