The National Judicial Council has resolved to issue warning letters to Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court; Justice G. B. Brikins-Okolosi of the Delta State High Court and Justice Amina Shehu of the Yobe State High Court

The trio were found guilty of different degrees of misconduct, during the 105th plenary meeting of the council, held between May 15 and 16, 2024; under the Chairmanship of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola.

This was disclosed in a statement issued by the council’s Director of Information, Soji Oye, dated May 16, 2024, and sighted by PUNCH Online on Friday, May 17, 2024.

Ekwo and Brikins-Okolosi were barred from elevation to a higher Bench for two years and three years, respectively.

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The statement noted that Ekwo is “warned for abuse of discretionary power of a judge by wrongly granting an ex parte order in suit no. FHC/ABJ/C/626/2023 Juliet Ebere Nwadi Gbaka & 2 Ors V Seplat Energy Plc & 12 Ors,

“The Hon. Judge is also barred from being elevated to a higher Bench for two years.

“Hon. Justice G. B. Brikins-Okolosi of Delta State High Court is also issued a warning for failure to deliver judgment within the stipulated period in Joseph Anene Okafor Vs Skye Bank, suit no. A/94/2010 after parties had filed and adopted their final Written Addresses.”

Brikins-Okolosi “will also not be elevated to a higher Bench for a period of three years,” the statement noted.

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For Shehu, the council cautioned him “for issuing Writ of Possession Conferring Title on the Defendant in suit no. YBS/HC/NNR/1cv/2020 when there was no subsisting judgment of any court to enable His Lordship issue the Writ.”

The NJC also recommended two reports written against judges of the Federal and State High Courts for further investigation.

“Council at the meeting considered two Reports of its two Preliminary Complaints Assessment Committees that filtered 35 petitions written against Judges of the Federal and State High Courts and decided to empanel eight Committees to further investigate the petitions that were found meritorious by the Committees,” the statement added.

Furthermore, the council dismissed petitions against several judges “for lack of merit, evidence of misconduct, subjudice or that they were matters that could be appealed.”

The dismissed petitions were against Justices A. M. Liman, A. A. Okeke, D. E. Osiagor (Federal High Court); Justices S. B. Belgore, and Bello Kawu (High Court of the Federal Capital Territory), among others.

“The Council deliberated on the notification of retirements of three Judicial Officers including that of the Chief Justice of Nigeria Hon Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, GCON and notification of death of three Judges of the Federal and State Courts,” the statement concluded.

Ahead of the governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has cautioned against the abuse of incumbency power.

Yakubu noted that a situation where a ruling party denied the opposition access to campaign spaces often resulted in a breach of peace.

He appealed for security protection for both the personnel and materials that INEC would be deploying for the upcoming elections.

The Edo State governorship election is scheduled for September 21, 2024, while the Ondo State election will be held on November 16, 2024.

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The Continuous Voter Registration in both states will run simultaneously from Monday, May 27, to Wednesday, June 5, from 9 am to 3 pm daily, including weekends.

Campaigns by political parties in Edo State began on April 24, 2024, and would conclude at midnight on September 19, 2024.

Speaking on Thursday at a meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security in Abuja, Yakubu underscored the responsibility of security agencies to ensure the enforcement of the law throughout the election period, stressing the importance of a peaceful and orderly process.

He also called on the security agencies to maintain vigilance over the electioneering process, to prevent violent attacks and negative mobilisation by political parties, candidates, and their supporters during campaigns.

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He said, “We need security protection for the registrants, registration personnel, equipment, observers, and journalists that will cover the CVR exercise.

“I urge you to keep your eyes on the electioneering process to prevent violent attacks or negative mobilisation by political parties, candidates, and their supporters during their campaigns.

“Similarly, the use of the power of incumbency to deny opposition parties and candidates access to public facilities, such as radio and television stations, public buildings for campaigns and rallies, or even outdoor advertising through the imposition of excessive fees and levies often results in the breach of the peace.

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“These actions, including the mutual destruction of campaign materials and facilities, violate the provisions of Sections 91 to 97 of the Electoral Act 2022. The security agencies must ensure the enforcement of the law,” he said.

The National Security Adviser and co-chair of ICCES, Nuhu Ribadu, stressed the need for the same level of dedication and effort in the forthcoming elections as was demonstrated in previous ones.

Ribadu highlighted the importance of strategic deployment, cautioning against overwhelming the system with excessive numbers.

Represented by the Director of Internal Security in the ONSA, Hassan Abdullahi, the NSA said, “The same efforts for the previous elections would be extended to the forthcoming elections.

“However, we need to be careful in our deployment in terms of numbers so that we will not overburden the system.”

A Federal High Court Abuja, on Friday denied the bail application of a crypto currency firm executive, Tigran Gambaryan.

Justice Emeka Nwite, while delivering the ruling held that the bail application is refused as he has carefully gone through the application submitted before him and resolved that the defendant will jump bail if granted.

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Gambaryan, his company, Binance Holdings Limited and a fellow top executive currently on the run, Nadeem Anjarwalla, were charged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, with money laundering and terrorism financing .

Details shortly….