Arrested justices Syla Ngwuta and John Okoro have volunteered not to sit on proceedings at the apex court until when their names have been cleared
Chief Justice of Nigeria Mahmud Mohammed confirmed this at a meeting with some lawyers on Thursday, October 27
Justices of the Supreme Court Sylva Ngwuta and John Inyang Okoro have withdrawn from sitting at the Nigerian apex court.
Punch reports that the justices, who were among those being investigated by the Department of State Services (DSS) after a raid on their homes some weeks back voluntarily withdrew their services and would no longer sit until their names have been cleared.
It reports further that this was revealed by Chief Justice of Nigeria Mahmud Mohammed during a meeting that he held with a delegation of the Nigerian Bar Association in his chambers on Thursday, October 27.
It was also revealed at the meeting that Ngwuta and Okoro had not been sitting since the arrest but have now accepted to wait until their names are cleared before returning to proceedings at the apex court.
“The CJN made it clear that the NJC could never have suspended the arrested judges in the absence of any evidence presented by their accusers.
“The CJN said the DSS, which levelled allegations against the judges, had not presented any evidence against them to the NJC on which any possibility of suspending them could be based.
“But he said the two affected Justices of the Supreme Court had, on their own, recused (withdrawn) themselves from sitting until when they are able to clear their names.
“The CJN made it clear that the two Justices of the Supreme Court were not on suspension,” a source at the meeting told Punch.
The source added: “They were able to explain the positions they each took to each other more clearly.
“The CJN explained why the NJC could not suspend the affected judges in the absence of any evidence.
“The NBA president, on his part, also explained that he actually did not call for the suspension of the judges but that he only called on the affected judges to recuse themselves until they were able to clear their names.
“The NBA president said the association’s position was to save the institution because having judges with corruption allegations hanging over their heads or even arraigned for criminal offences still sitting, would cause a lot of collateral damage to the institution of the judiciary.
“But the NBA stuck to its condemnation of the procedure adopted by the DSS without recourse to the NJC.”
“The CJN cited an instance when the NJC recommended to a state governor the compulsory retirement of a judge, but the governor never approved the recommendation.
“At the end of the day the judge remained on the bench until he attained his statutory retirement age and he is now entitled to getting his full retirement benefits.”
Meanwhile, protesters have stormed the Supreme Court of Nigeria and demanded that all justices arrested by DSS some weeks ago should step aside while their case is in court.
The protesters carried placards with various inscriptions such as: “Stop corruption before it stops you,” “Don’t get it twisted, Judiciary is not on trial, only corrupt officials are,” among others.
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