Court Orders Outside Jurisdiction: Nasarawa Interdicts Two Magistrates, Manga & Agbi; Suspends Them Over Alleged Access Bank PND Scandal
The Judicial Service Commission in Nasarawa State has suspended two magistrates, Emmanuel Agbi and Victor Manga, over allegations of gross misconduct.
In letters dated January 30th 2024, the Commission’s Executive Secretary, Yahaya Shafa, stated that the magistrates were being interdicted with immediate effect pending investigations into claims they granted court orders outside their jurisdiction.
The allegations were made by lawyer Maxwell Opara, who accused the magistrates of being part of an alleged scheme by Access Bank and police officers to fraudulently withdraw 20 million naira from his client’s account.
Opara’s accusations against Access Bank also implicated the magistrates and police officers. In response, the state chapter of the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) had challenged Opara to disclose the identities of the judicial officials involved.
The suspension letters directed at Agbi and Manga asked them to make representations before the Judicial Commission at a date to be communicated later regarding the misconduct allegations.
Both magistrates were posted to the Gudi Magistrate Court per the correspondence from the Commission. The Chief Registrar of the state’s High Court of Justice was copied on the suspension letters.
The investigation into the suspended magistrates comes amidst efforts to boost integrity and transparency in Nigeria’s judiciary. Their probe underscores accountability measures by judicial authorities to uphold professional ethics.
