CJN To Quiz Six Chief Judges Over Conflicting Court Orders

Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and Chairman, National Judicial Council (NJC), Hon. Dr. Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad is set to quiz six chief judges over conflicting court orders.

The summons issued on Monday, August 30 requested the presence of the chief judges of Rivers, Kebbi, Cross River, Anambra, Jigawa, and Imo states to appear before the NJC, a statutory body concerned with appointment and disciplining of judges, on Monday, September 6 to explain their recent court orders.

AllNews Nigeria gathered that in recent weeks, the aforementioned judges had issued conflicting orders on issues bordering on the chairmanship tussle of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the gubernatorial candidate crisis of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Anambra state.

There are indications that the Chief Judge, Delta State High Court, has also been invited to join the other six chief judges to meet with the CJN on Monday.

NJC’s Director of Information, Soji Oye, confirmed to newsmen that the CJN had demanded the records of proceedings of the judges involved in the conflicting court orders.

Oye also said the Delta State Chief Judge might have been summoned.

“Yes, I am aware that the six Chief Judges have been asked to produce the records of proceedings, and they will be appearing on Monday. There are also indications that the Delta Chief Judge has been summoned too,” he said.

The unprecedented move is to reset the anti-corruption efforts of the Tanko leadership and entrench a new culture of accountability in the judicial system.

The CJN complained about the “huge embarrassment” caused by those who issued conflicting orders upon ex-parte applications by some political parties.

“My attention has been drawn to media reports to the effect that some courts of coordinate jurisdiction were granting conflicting Exparte Orders on the same subject matter,” the summon reads.

“It has become expedient for me to invite you for a detailed briefing on the development.

“This is even more compelling having regard to earlier NJC warning to judicial officers on the need to be circumspect in granting Exparte applications.” excerpts from the summons read in part.

Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad is also likely to meet with the leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association in the course of the week over the matter.