Following Saharareporters exposé regarding the nomination of rogue judges to Nigeria’s Court of Appeal, the Federal Judicial Service Commission has been compelled to drop some of them. Retained, however, is Ebowei Tobi, the privileged son of Supreme Court justice, Nikki Tobi. Our sources said his retention is meant as reward for his father's pivotal role in certifying the fraudulent election of Umaru Yar’Adua as president of Nigeria. The younger Tobi was previously appointed to the Delta State judiciary by former governor James Ibori. Prior to his appointment to the Delta State judiciary, his only visible role as a lawyer was his service as company scretary of the bankrupted Crystal Bank of Africa (now acquired by UBA).
The Commission, headed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Legbo Kutigi, dropped other controversial judges named in our report. The most controversial, and first nominee to be dropped was Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia, the judge involved with James Ibori and Emmanuel Uduaghan, the former and current Governors of Delta State.
Justice Ajumogobia operates from the Ibadan Division of the Federal High Court. Strong opposition against her came from lawyers and other judges in the Federal High Court who describe her as grossly incompetent and corrupt. Representatives of the Nigeria Bar Association on the FJSC were unanimous in rejecting her elevation.
The rejection of Ajumogobia is also based on the grounds that, in collaboration with the Chief Judge of Delta State, Roseline Bozimo, she acted and still acts on behalf of Emmanuel Uduaghan compromising judges in the election petition against him. The Delta State Governor has manipulated and twisted that petition against his opponents by a panel of Court of Appeal justices led by Amina Adamu-Augie and recently retained Ajumogobia to work hard on judges involved in the fresh petition.
Justice Ajumogobia has reportedly offered cash gratification to lawyers of Uduaghan’s opponents in the trial. She pressurized them to lose the case on procedural grounds. Saharareporters sources said Justice Ajumogobia is still moving around the current tribunal members with a bag full of cash to give a ruling favorable to Uduaghan. A source told Saharareporters, "She has been promised a cabinet position for her UK-based kid brother, Bigboy Ofili, if she can compromise the current tribunal members for Uduaghan in the much-awaited ruling of the tribunal."
Other judges whose names have been struck out of the list include Justice Garuba Nabaruma, who was reportedly dropped from the list because he could not provide any rigorous judgment he personally wrote. Nabaruama has mostly worked as a tribunal judge.
Another dropped nominee is Justice Aisha Sani Dahiru, the Chief Judge of Sokoto State; Mrs. Binta Nyako (wife of the Adamawa State governor); Justice Muhtar Dodo they were both dropped in favor of Abdullahi Yusuf, a judge nominated to the Court of Appeal on the Sharia’ slot; Justice Amina Wanbai; and Ibrahim Nyaure Buba (the judge who gave Peter Odili the perpetual injunction shielding him from prosecution for money laundering) were also dropped. Saharareprters also learnt that Justice Akinjide Ajakaiye and Samuel Attah, (the judge that nullified Governor Chime’s election), Idris Ebuti from Niger State and Justice Rita Pemu from Edo State were also dropped. Sources told Saharareporters that following our exposé on the nomination of the judges, petitions that had hitherto been ignored by the FJSC began to receive expeditious perusal and attention, leading to the weeding-out of the rogue justices. The Chief Judges of the high courts in the jurisdiction of the courts who were earlier by-passed by the President of the Court of Appeal and the presidency of Yar’adua in nominating the rogue justices were given hearing and they reportedly protested against most of the nominees.
This also includes the petition written by the Chief Judge of the Federal High court. Also, the FJSC has now requested the President of the Court of Appeal Abdullahi to nominate a competent judge from the Southeast, a zone that was completely ignored in the earlier nominations. Judicial officials in several anonymous interviews with Saharareporters said James Ibori, Michael Aondoakaa and Umaru Yar’Adua have completely infiltrated the Federal High Court and Court of Appeals arms of the Nigerian judiciary. The effect of this take-over would begin to manifest more and more in a few months as the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) begins its intended 60-years rule pursuits across Nigeria.
The nominations now proceeds to a final screening at National Judicial Council (NJC). The NJC will screen the nominees before the names of successful candidates are submitted to Yar’adua for final rites of endorsement before swearing-in to the Appeals bench of the Nigerian judiciary.
Meanwhile, the chief judge of the Federal High Court, Abdullahi Mustaph, has notified the federal government of his intention to retire from service effective August 2009. He will be succeeded by Justice Dan Abutu. The succession will puts another judge, Ibrahim Auta, on the edge of becoming the chief judge of the Nigerian federal high court of Nigeria. Justice Auta is notorious for presiding over the the kangaroo tribunal that sentenced writer Ken Saro-Wiwa and 8 other Ogoni environmental activists to a "hanging death" in November 1995.
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