Age falsification: Abia CJ faces sacking

JULY 30, 2013 

Chief Justice of Nigeria, Aloma Mukhtar

The National Judicial Council has recommended the sacking of the Acting Chief Judge of Abia State, Justice Shadrack Nwanosike, who was found guilty of falsifying his age.

A statement by the acting Director of Information in the NJC, Soji Oye, said the council had also ordered some judges, whom he described as scoring “very low or non-performance” grades in their performance evaluation reports, to appear before it to show why they should not be sacked.

Parts of the statement read, “The National Judicial Council, under the chairmanship of the Hon. Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, at its 63rd Meeting, held on July 17 and 18, 2013, recommended the compulsory retirement from office of Justice Shadrack O.E. Nwanosike, the Acting Chief Judge of Abia State.

“The decision is sequel to the findings of the Council that Justice Nwanosike falsified his date of birth, which invariably affected his retirement age.

“The Council, during the meeting, also considered and deliberated on the Report of its Committee on Performance Evaluation of Judicial Officers of the Superior Courts of Record in the Federation.

“At the end of the deliberation, Council constituted a five-man committee, comprising its members to invite judicial officers with ‘Very Low Performance or Non-Performance’, to appear before it to show cause why they should not be removed from office.”

The NJC also recommended to the executive arm of government the appointment of some judicial officers to fill vacancies in the federal and state judiciaries, including the Chief Judge, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, who is to be appointed by President Goodluck Jonathan.

Other appointments, recommended by the Council, are CJ, Rivers State; CJ, Jigawa State;  CJ, Katsina; State; President, Customary Court of Appeal, Taraba State;  two Kadis for the Sharia Court of Appeal, Kebbi State; two Kadis for the Sharia Court of Appeal, Sokoto State; one judge for the Customary Court of Appeal, Delta State; and two judges for the Customary Court of Appeal, Ebonyi State, which are to made by their respective state governors.