NGO petitions NJC over Khadi’s failure to retire
A non-governmental organisation has submitted a petition to the National Judicial Council (NJC) against Grand Khadi of the FCT Sharia Court, Ibrahim Rufai Imam, for allegedly overstaying his tenure in office.
The petition, dispatched on October 30, 2023, and authored by Onoja Johnson Baba of the Network Against Corruption and Trafficking, highlights the accusation of Imam’s prolonged stay in public service and the infringement of Chapter 12 Rule 120243 of the Revised Federal Government Public Service Rules 2021 (PSR).
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The organisation cited the retirement of Hon. Justice Tukur Argungu, the Grand Khadi of Kebbi State on June 6, 2023, as a precedent for Imam’s expected retirement. Additionally, in a separate request under the Freedom of Information Act, the NGO sought the Retirement Notice of Khadi Imam from the NJC, which remains pending.
“We are not unmindful of the signing into law of the amendment to the Constitution by the President in June 2023 extending the tenure of judges from 65 years to 70 years. However, it was certain that the Grand Khadi of Sharia Court of Appeal of the FCT was already in his retirement leave period when the bill extending the tenure of judges was stgned into law by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and same could not have been applicable to him,” Baba said.