The National Judicial Council (NJC) has asked the seven senior judges arrested in October by the Department of State Service (DSS) for alleged corruption to step aside.
Headed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mahmud Mohammed, the NJC had initially refused to suspend the judges despite public pressure, saying the allegations against them had not been substantiated.
It took a new position at the end of a two-day emergency meeting that ended in Abuja on Thursday.
A communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, and signed by NJC’s Director of Information, Soji Oye, said the decision was taken to avoid allowing persons under investigation to partake in presiding over judicial matters at the same time.
It said a Transparency and Anti-Corruption Policy Implementation Committee headed by Hon Justice E. O. Ayoola, CON (Rtd Justice of the Supreme Court) has been constituted
“Council also decided that Judicial Officers shall not be standing trial for alleged corruption related offences and be performing judicial functions at the same time,” the communiqué said.
“Council however decided that it will ensure that Judicial Officers who are being investigated for alleged high profile criminal offences do not perform judicial functions until their cases are concluded.”
The NJC turnaround comes exactly two weeks after Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), which condemned the arrest initially, called for their immediate suspension “to protect the sanctity and integrity of judicial processes.”
The judges who were arrested include Sylvester Nguta and John Okoro of the Supreme Court and Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court Abuja.
Others are Justice Muazu Pindiga of Gombe State; Kabiru Auta of Kano State, Innocent Umezulike of Enugu State and Mohammed Tsamiya, an appeal court judge in Ilorin.
