NJC sacks 10 Imo State Judges over age falsification 

• Recommends 21 candidates for appointment as judicial officers 

From Godwin Tsa, Abuja

The National Judicial Council NJC at it’s 109th meeting took a sweeping decisions including the recommendation for the retirement of ten Judges of the Imo State judiciary.

While nine of the affected Judges of the Imo State judiciary were found to have altered their dates of birth in their official records, in order to confer on themselves the undue advantage of staying longer in service, the other Judicial officer, Justice T.N.Nzeukwu was found to have made himself available to be sworn in as acting Chief Judge of the Imo State High Court, knowing fully well that he was number four in the hierarchy of the state judiciary, contrary to section 271(4) of the 1999 constitution.

The nine other judges found to have falsified their records comprising five high court judges and four Judges of the Customary Court of Appeal Imo State are: Justice M.E. Nwagboso (High Court); Justice B.C. Iheka (High Court); Justice K. A. Leanlweanya (High Court); Justice Okereke Chinyere Ngozi (High Court); Justice Innocent Chidi Ibeawuchi (High Court).

The rest are Justice Tennyson Nze (Customary Court of Appeal); Justice Ofoha Uchenna (Customary Court of Appeal); Justice Everyman Eleanyi (Customary Court of Appeal and Justice Rosemond Ibe (Customary Court of Appeal).

The NJC meeting which was presided by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kekere-Ekun equally recommended the appointment of 21 candidates as judicial officers.

A statement by the NJC’s Deputy Director for Information, Mrs. Kemi Ogedengbe said the meeting equally barred a Judge of the National Industrial Court, Justice Isaac Essien from promotion three years due to acts of judicial misconduct.

It equally recommended the voluntary retirement of Justice Babatunde Ademola Bakare of the Ogun State High Court and Justice H O. Ajayi of the Kwara State High Court.

This is not the first time the NJC is been asked to beam its searchlight on activities of states’ judiciary, as it has dealt with numerous cases involving age falsification by judges.

For instance, in September 2016, the council announced the compulsory retirement of two of the High Court judges of Niger State over age falsification.

Also, in April 2020, the NJC sacked a judge of the Imo State High Court following the falsification of date of birth from 1950 to 1958. The council said findings showed that he was supposed to have retired in November 2015 when he clocked the mandatory retirement age of 65 years.

The council also sacked a judge of the Yobe State High Court for falsifying his age on two occasions. He was said to have declared February 1, 1955, and later August 27, 1955.

He later declared December 30, 1959. He was supposed to retire on February 1, 2020, by virtue of his declared date of birth of February 1, 1955.

Similarly, the council found an Osun State High Court judge to have falsified his date of birth from September 3, 1955, to Sept 1957.

In all the cases, the NJC advised the state governments to deduct from the gratuity of the judges all salaries received in the period they ought not to be in service and remit to the public purse.