"We Asked Judges To Step Down After Seeing Evidence" - Chief Justice of Nigeria On Suspended Justices

The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mahmud Mohammed,has revealed that the National Judicial Commission (NJC) asked judges facing allegations of corruption to step down because it was confronted with proof of evidence against some of them.

He said that the decision showed the desire of the judiciary to preserve its independence.

Mohammed made this known on Monday during the swearing-in of Justice Amina Adamu Augie and Justice Ejembi Eko as justices of the Supreme Court in Abuja.

“Certainly, the decision of the National Judicial Council at its last meeting reflects our desire to preserve this independence. Hence, we proclaimed to the world that any judicial officer that is standing trial will cease to perform judicial functions.

The Council took this stand following communications it received from the Attorney General of the Federation that he was embarking on the prosecution of the affected judicial officers for the offences disclosed against them. We must not forget that we operate a constitutional democracy, which clearly prescribes the powers accorded to each organ of the state.

“I therefore wish to state without fear of contradiction that the third arm of government will remain resolute in its commitment and resolve to uphold its independence,” he said.

He also urged the new Supreme Court judges to be upright and steadfast in the discharge of their duties.