The National Judicial Council (NJC) has initiated investigations into 27 high court judges across Nigeria, forming four probe panels to examine various allegations of judicial misconduct brought against them.
In a related development, the NJC issued a cautionary letter to Justice O. M. Olagunju of the Oyo State High Court, advising him to exercise greater care and professionalism in his role as a Judicial Officer.
The advice followed concerns over his use of “uncouth language” in a letter to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, where he challenged the Council’s decision and Policy Direction regarding the appointment of the President of the Customary Court of Appeal in Oyo State.
At its 106th meeting, presided over by the outgoing Chief Justice of Nigeria, Olukayode Ariwoola, the NJC reviewed the report from its Preliminary Complaints Assessment Committee on 22 petitions filed against 27 Judicial Officers from both Federal and State High Courts.
Following this review, the Council deemed several of these petitions to have merit and subsequently constituted four committees to investigate the allegations further.
According to a statement released by the NJC’s Director of Information, Mr. Soji Oye, in Abuja, 18 of the petitions were dismissed due to a lack of merit, abandonment, or being sub judice.
Those dismissed included complaints against several high-profile judges, such as Hon. Justice Monica B. Dongban-Mensem, President of the Court of Appeal, and multiple justices from the Court of Appeal and Federal High Courts, including Justice John Tsoho, Chief Judge of the Federal High Court.
In addition to these actions, the NJC placed five judges on its pre-sanction Watch List for poor performance.
These judges have been warned that if their performance does not improve, they may face appropriate sanctions from the Council.
As this meeting marked Justice Ariwoola’s final session before his retirement, he expressed gratitude for the support he received from Council members and the Secretariat.
He also urged them to extend the same cooperation to his successor.
In return, Council members praised the outgoing Chief Justice, wishing him good health and success in his retirement.
