NJC in Kogi suspends appointment of Judges, Kadis
The National Judicial Council (NJC) has put on hold the process of appointment of Judges and Kadis for the Kogi State Judiciary.
This decision came in response to a letter from some Senior Advocates of Nigeria, including Jibrin Okutepa, SAN, and Yunus Usman, SAN, who brought a lawsuit to the NJC’s attention regarding the alleged interference of ethnicity and politics in the appointment process orchestrated by Governor Yahaya Bello.
According to the lawyers, the list of appointed judges and kadis was not free from these external influences.
They highlighted the case of Amina Bello, the proposed High Court judge, emphasising that she lacks the necessary experience as a magistrate judge and does not meet other essential requirements.
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In response to the lawsuit, Ahmed Saleh, the Secretary of the council, conveyed in a letter to Okutepa that the NJC would suspend any appointment subject to ongoing litigation, as it upholds the importance of respecting the authority of the court and the rule of law. The letter, which was marked as Ref. No. NJC/KOG.HC/22/11/418, confirmed the suspension of the appointment process.
“Thus, I wish to inform you that once a suit is instituted against any appointment process, the Council does put the process on hold, pending the matter’s determination. Consequently, the NJC has put on hold the process of appointment of Judges and Kadis for the Kogi State Judiciary, please.”
The council’s spokesperson, Adesoji Oye, has not provided any comment on this matter despite attempts to reach out for a response.
Jibrin Okutepa has confirmed the receipt and content of the letter, thus establishing that the NJC has indeed taken the necessary steps to address the legal concerns raised in the lawsuit.
