‘CJN Kekere-Ekun only loud on rhetoric, mild to ‘criminal’ judges’
By Babajide Adekunle
Nigeria’s chief justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun is being lenient with judges found to have committed egregious offences, says the advocacy group Tap Initiative. Martin Obono, executive director of Tap Initiative, claimed that Kereke-Ekun’s one year in office saw “a clear articulation of the judiciary’s challenges” but “limited evidence of systematic reform implementation.”
The group’s statement reads partly, “Rhetoric has been loud, tangible reforms remain elusive.”
“Despite concerns about their misuse in political cases, no new guidelines or policy changes have been publicly announced addressing the issue.’’
Tap Initiative also noted that the issue of having backlog of cases has persisted, noting “over 243,000 pending cases in the higher courts.”
On enforcing discipline, the group noted the punishment to some erring judges, including a former chief judge of Imo State, and eight other judges who falsified their ages or failed to abide by the principle of seniority in career elevation.
It said the punishment however amount to mere “slap on the wrists” of the erring judges, instead of allowing them to face “serious consequences for their criminal actions.”
The group cited examples of such judges to include Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, who received one-year suspension, placed on a five-year watch-list, and barred him from elevation for delivering a ruling without hearing parties and ignoring a motion to set aside an ex parte proceeding.’’
A similar case is that of “Justice Jane E. Inyang of the Court of Appeal, Uyo Division, whom NJC suspended for one year without pay for issuing inappropriate ex parte orders to sell a petrol station and other assets at an interlocutory stage.”
Tap Initiative concluded that “while these measures are commendable, they are manifestly inadequate considering that many of these offences are criminal.
“The CJN should have recommended prosecution by law enforcement agencies.”
Cornet News reports that President Bola Tinubu inaugurated Kekere-Ekun as the 23rd Chief Justice of Nigeria and second female justice to hold the office on August 24.
