The Era Of Judicial Rascality Is Gone, Says Senior Advocate

Last week, the National Judicial Council (NJC) suspended two judges over alleged judicial misconduct.

Hon.  Justice A.O. Nwabunike of the High Court in Anambra State and Hon. Justice G.C. Aguma of the High Court of Rivers State were suspended for one year without pay.

The duo were also placed on a two-year watchlist.

Also, a total of five serving judicial officers were sanctioned for various acts of misconduct, as well as two heads of the court were recommended for compulsory retirement over falsification of age.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Monday, Anaba said some of these judges should have retired as far back as 2012.

According to him, the affected judges were allegedly receiving salaries.

“I commend the agency for taking these bold actions and also getting to the real root of these misconducts. Not telling them to ‘go home and sin no more’. And return all the money they illegally got. The era of judicial rascality is gone.”

“It became rampant that even though the judicial age requirement had been increased, some judicial officers by affidavit adjusted their age.”

On how far-reaching the NJC will be with regard to ensuring sanity, Ejiofor expressed optimism that the agency will do well and do better.

“The agency started doing a lot more work on this, and they need the support and commendation of Nigerians,” he said.