Kogi Assembly Recommends Removal of Chief Judge

Kogi Assembly Recommends Removal of Chief Judge

• Army warns commander not to interfere in the state’s politics

Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja

Kogi State House of Assembly has recommended the removal of the state’s Chief Judge, Justice Nasir Ajana, for alleged gross misconduct.

This followed the adoption of the report and recommendations of the House Committee on Public Accounts, which indicted the Kogi State High Court and Kogi Hajj Commission for financial breaches.

The recommendation of the state House of Assembly is coming as the Nigerian Army Headquarters yesterday warned the Commander in charge of Army Headquarters Records, Major General Elvis Njoku, against any involvement of soldiers in the alleged plan to remove the Chief Judge of the state from his official residence.

The assembly also said that the Chief Judge could step aside to defend himself over the indictment by the Auditor-General of the state.

It also recommended punitive measures for those indicted to prevent a recurrence.

The state judiciary had been in disagreement with the state government over issues bordering on the screening of the workforce, leading to the ongoing strike action which entered its fourth month on Monday.

Governor Yahaya Bello had, last month, called on the striking judiciary workers to subject themselves to table payment systems designed to weed out ghost workers and unintended beneficiaries from the system.

The judiciary workers objected to the order, insisting that they have their own internal screening mechanism.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army Headquarters yesterday warned the Commander in charge of Army Headquarters Records, Major General Elvis Njoku, against any involvement of soldiers in the alleged plan to remove the Chief Judge of the state from his official residence.

The order followed allegations that the soldiers were positioned to eject the CJ from his official residence.

But the army statement warned the commander not to interfere in the crisis under any guise.

“The Nigerian Army has received a report of the purported or planned use of soldiers to remove and eject the Kogi State Chief Judge from his official residence.

“The NA under the leadership of Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai will not contemplate interfering under any guise in the internal executive/judiciary conflict in Kogi State or any other state for that matter,” it said.

The statement further noted that “the Army Headquarters has already directed and warned the commander in the state to steer clear of this conflict.

“As a professional and law-abiding organisation, the NA hereby strongly distances itself from Kogi State conflict between the state executive and the judiciary”.

Related Articles