…Directs Imo Judicial Service Commission to include Acting Chief Judge in list of candidates for interview
The National Judicial Council (NJC) has suspended three judicial officers for one-year without pay and imposed additional restrictions on the elevation of two of those suspended.
The suspended judicial officers, according to a statement made available to newsmen late Wednesday by the Deputy Director of Information of the NJC, Mrs Kemi Babalola-Ogedengbe are, Justice Hannatu Mohammed Kabir of Nasarawa State High Court, Grand Kadi Mohammed Sani Salihu of Jigawa State Sharia Court of Appeal and Grand Kadi Mohammed Sani Salihu of Jigawa State Sharia Court of Appeal.
The statement said the NJC handed down the suspension at its 112th meeting held on November 3, 2026, under the Chairmanship of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun.
Council approved the suspension of Justice Hannatu Mohammed Kabir for one year without pay and barred her from nomination for elevation for three years over the unlawful detention of a litigant for 58 days without proper contempt proceedings.
The Investigation Committee found that she ordered the litigant’s arrest and detention for alleged disobedience of court orders without the issuance and service of the mandatory Forms 48 and 49 or the institution of proper contempt proceedings.
It held that the alleged contempt occurred outside the court’s presence and could not lawfully be summarily tried and punished. The Committee also found that the action violated the litigant’s right to fair hearing.
The Council approved the suspension of Grand Kadi Mohammed Sani Salihu for one year without pay over his involvement in reopening a judgment delivered by the FCT Upper Area Court.
The Committee found that the Grand Kadi exceeded his authority by constituting a committee to review the judgment and subsequently assigning the matter to a Higher Sharia Court Judge, who received fresh evidence and delivered another judgment.
The Committee held that the process amounted to an appeal against a valid judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction, which was subsequently set aside by the Jigawa State High Court.
It also found the act to constitute a violation of Rule 3.3.1 of the Revised Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers, 2016.
Meanwhile Council directed that the most senior Kadi of the Jigawa State Sharia Court of Appeal should perform the functions of the office of the Grand Kadi for the period of the suspension.
Justice Sobere Biambo of Rivers State High Court was suspended for one year without pay and a three-year restriction on elevation over the issuance of bench warrants and imposition of fines on litigants in a civil dispute without due process.
The Committee found that he ordered the arrest of the petitioners for alleged disobedience of an interim injunction and subsequently imposed fines of N300,000 on each without the institution of contempt proceedings or service of Forms 48 and 49.
It held that the alleged contempt occurred outside the court’s presence and ought not to have been summarily tried and punished.
The NJC also recommended the appointment of a Grand Kadi for Plateau State and 27 other candidates as Judicial Officers. Of the 28 candidates recommended, 24 were for appointment as Judges of the High Courts of Kano, Ebonyi, Edo, Adamawa and Ogun States.
One candidate was recommended for appointment as Grand Kadi of the Plateau State Sharia Court of Appeal, while another was recommended as Kadi of the Adamawa State Sharia Court of Appeal.
Two others were recommended for appointment as judges of the Adamawa State Customary Court of Appeal.
All recommended candidates, according to the statement are expected to be sworn-in by their respective State Governors without delay.
Council also directed the Imo State Judicial Service Commission to include the name of the most senior Judge of the State High Court, the Acting Chief Judge, Justice Ijeoma Agugua, in the list of candidates for appointment as substantive Chief Judge of the State.
The decision, the statement said, followed the consideration of a petition dated June 11, 2026, by Mr. Bob Kay Njemanze, who challenged the exclusion of Justice Agugua from the shortlist submitted by the Imo State Judicial Service Commission.
In considering the petition, Council noted that although the State Judicial Service Commission has the constitutional responsibility to advise the NJC on suitable candidates for appointment as Chief Judge, the Council retains the authority to determine the suitability of persons presented to it.
It consequently directed its Secretariat to formally request the Imo State JSC to include the name of Justice I. O. Agugua in the shortlist.
On disciplinary matters, Council considered nine investigation reports concerning petitions against Judicial Officers over their handling of cases.
The NJC also cautioned Justice Kayode Agunloye of the FCT High Court in one of the petitions over his handling of post-judgment garnishee proceedings in a suit involving First Bank of Nigeria Plc.
The Committee found that he improperly entertained and granted a fresh ex parte application for a Garnishee Order Nisi on October 22, 2025, after an earlier similar application had been withdrawn and struck out. This was while other pending applications, including the bank’s application for stay of execution, had been adjourned to November 4, 2025.
The Committee held that his action created room for justifiable suspicion.
Council also approved the issuance of caution/warning to six Judicial Officers including placement on the its Watch List and also approved the retirement notifications of six judicial officers.
END
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