The National Judicial Council (NJC)
under the Chairmanship of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Walter Onnoghen,
has recommended compulsory retirement of Justice Adeniyi Ademola and Justice O.
O. Tokode, both of the Federal High Court, for misconduct.
NJC Director of Information, Soji Oye,
in a statement said that the decision was reached at its 84th meeting, which
held yesterday.
Surprisingly, the recommendation came
hours after Justice Ademola tendered his letter for retirement.
The letter was dated December 6 and
addressed to the CJN through the Acting Chief Judge of the Federal High Court,
and was received yesterday.
Oye in the statement, said Justice
Ademola, who had forwarded his notice of retirement on October 10, to the NJC
against April 9, 2018, when he will attain the mandatory retirement age of 65
years, was however recommended to President Muhammadu Buhari for compulsory
retirement pursuant to the findings by the council on the allegation contained
in a petition written against him by a group of eight persons under the
umbrella of Committee of Anambra State PDP House of Representatives
Members-elect.
Justice Tokode was also recommended
for compulsory retirement from office with immediate effect sequel to the
findings of NJC on the allegation contained in petitions forwarded by
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and Miss Abimbola Awogboro.
The petitioners accused the judge of
misleading the Federal Judicial Service Commission and the NJC by submitting
six judgements he claimed to have personally conducted while practising as a
lawyer; a pre-requisite for his application for appointment as a judicial
officer, and was so appointed.
“The Investigation Committee of
Council however found that the judge personally conducted only one of the six
cases submitted.”
The council warned Justice A. N. Ubaka
of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria for failure to deliver ruling in
suit No. NICN/BEN/51/2014 within the time specified by law, while Justice
Zainab Aliyu Sadat of the High Court of Niger State was also warned and placed
on the watch-list for three years for claiming that the defendant in suit No:
NHSC/MN/46/2016, failed to make available authority cited by them after
submission of the argument to her.
Justice A. M. Lawal
of Lagos State High Court was issued a warning letter and placed on
‘watch-list’ for one year for unnecessary delay in delivering his ruling and
giving his personal phone number to parties.
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