Consecration of Judicial Misconducts by NJC

The recent sanctions imposed on three judges by the National Judicial Council for breaching judicial procedures are too lenient to deter compromised judges who contribute to the rot in the judiciary, Davidson Iriekpen writes

As part of its move to curtail judicial misconduct, the National Judicial Council (NJC) recently slammed a one-year suspension without pay on three serving judicial officers, including a Justice of the Court of Appeal, for various acts of judicial misconduct. The disciplinary actions were among several key resolutions reached at the council’s 108th meeting under the chairmanship of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun.

The council found Justice Jane E. Inyang of the Court of Appeal, Uyo Division, guilty of abuse of office as a judge of the Federal High Court, Uyo Judicial Division.

“Justice Jane E. Inyang was found to have abused his office by issuing inappropriate ex parte orders for the sale of Udeme Esset’s petrol station and other businesses at the interlocutory stage of the case.

“The act of judicial misconduct occurred while His Lordship presided over Suit No. FHC/UY/CS/46/2023, at the Federal High Court, Uyo Judicial Division, before her elevation to Court of Appeal,” the statement read.

Similarly, Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, was also suspended for one year without pay. In addition, he was placed on the council’s watch list and barred from elevation for five years.

“The complaints against Hon. Justice Ekwo arose from Charge No: FHC/ABJ/CR/184/2021, wherein His Lordship delivered a ruling in a pending application without hearing the parties. His Lordship ignored an application to set aside the proceedings of the court conducted in the absence of the parties. Subsequently, His Lordship proceeded to deliver a ruling dismissing the charge against the defendants. Consequently, His Lordship was found to have violated Rules 3.1 and 3.3 of the 2016 Revised Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the council explained.

This is not the first time Justice Ekwo would be sanctioned. In 2023, he was found culpable of abusing his discretionary power by wrongly granting an ex-parte order in a case marked FHC/ABJ/C/626/2023, filed by Juliet Gbaka and two others against Seplat Energy Plc and 12 others.

Before then, he was in the eyes of the public for granting frivolous orders and delivering controversial and incongruous judgments, one of which was the sack of then Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State and his deputy, Kelechi Igwe, from office for defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) without any legal backing.

Justice Aminu Baffa Aliyu of the Federal High Court, Zamfara Division, was also suspended for one year without pay and placed on a three-year watch list. He was found guilty of granting orders restraining security agencies from carrying out their statutory duties in Suit No. FHC/GS/CS/30/2021 between the Zamfara State Government vs EFCC, and overruling the Supreme Court.

In addition to suspending him without pay for one year, the NJC also barred him from elevation for three years.

NJC also issued a letter of caution to Justice A. O. Awogboro of the Federal High Court, Lagos Division, over a petition filed in Suit No. FHC/CS/2021 between Chief Adesanya Musediku and the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 2.

Other disciplinary matters included the empanelling of nine committees to investigate 27 judicial officers over various allegations.

Ordinarily, Rule 3.1 of the Judicial Code of Conduct requires judges to be “true and faithful to the Constitution and the law and (to) uphold the course of justice….” 

The 1999 Constitution also guarantees fair hearing in judicial and legal proceedings as a fundamental right. Accordingly, Rule 3.3 of the Judicial Code of Conduct requires all judges to ensure that they afford to all parties in proceedings before them a “full right to be heard according to law.”

Unfortunately, many judges in the country do not comply with the dictates of the laws, due to pressure on them and corruption. Also, their actions show that they do not care or learn from the mistakes of other judges.

This is why many have argued that NJC’s sanctions are not severe enough to deter judges from committing acts of misconduct.

 Ordinarily, a judge who deliberately violates the tenets of fairness and impartiality with impunity should have no place on the Bench. 

Many judicial analysts have urged the council to revisit the matter and consider permanent removal of the judges from office so that the judiciary won’t become a sanctuary for impunity.

“If a judge could be suspended from office for one year without pay, why on earth should he or she come back?” an analyst queried.

“Allowing a judge to return to the Bench after suspension is like asking a police or military officer convicted for official misconduct to resume duties after serving his jail term,” the analyst added.

Outside of the country, Nigeria has become a laughing stock due to judgments and orders emanating from the courts.

 Many have described the judiciary as one of the biggest threats to the survival of Nigeria’s democracy and reiterated the urgent need for its revitalisation since other institutions depend on it for the country to thrive.

In 2022, a retiring justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Ejembi Eko, accused the council of applying double standards in the discipline of erring judicial officers. He said while some judges found culpable of misconduct were barred from getting promotions, others that committed similar breaches, had their promotion stalled for some years.

Since Nigeria enthroned democracy in 1999, judges are increasingly being derided because justice is given to the highest bidder.

Hardly are judgments or orders in sensitive business and political cases delivered without insinuations and allegations of influence or bribery.

Some Nigerians are disappointed that corruption has tainted the judiciary. What they have seen over the years is that instead of the third arm of government to use its judgments and orders to straighten the path of progress for the country, some unscrupulous judicial officers themselves want to dip their hands into the cookie jar.

In August, when the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) issued a joint report naming the Nigerian judiciary as “the second highest receiver of bribes in the country” after the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), the NJC faulted the report, dismissing it as “not only subjective but speculative.”

Justice administration is a very serious business, and the judiciary as an institution derives legitimacy from the implicit confidence reposed in it by the masses over whom it sits in judgment.

When the impression, real or perceived, is created that high net-worth individuals can approach the courts to procure judgments and orders at the expense of less-privileged members of the public, then the foundations of the justice system would have been eviscerated.