National Judicial Council Finds Justice Gummi Guilty of Gross Misconduct, Lets Him Walk Free

Posted: July 19, 2013 

Justice Lawal Gummi

By SaharaReporters, New York

A much anticipated two-day meeting of the National Judicial Council (NJC) from which progress in the battle against corruption in the judiciary was expected to be assessed ended with a thud today in Abuja.
Deliberating on the Report and recommendations of a committee that investigated a petition against Hon. Justice Lawal Hassan Gummi, the former Hon. Chief Judge of High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, the NJC agreed that the judge did interfere with the judgment delivered by Hon. Justice Jude Okeke in the suit between Nestello Gateway Group and Alhaji Abdul’aziz Abubakar Yari, a former National Assembly Member and current Governor of Zamfara State.
The suit was filed by Nestello Gateway Group and execution had already been levied in its favour.  The NJC described the interference by Hon. Justice Gummi in the execution of the judgment as “most unethical and highly reprehensible.”
The council also agreed with its committee that Justice Gummi was guilty of gross misconduct which would have led to his removal from office, but the judge having already voluntarily retired from service, it decided not to recommend his removal from office.
The NJC curiously did not offer any other punishment against Justice Gummi, either, simply blandly saying that any similar misconduct by a judicial officer in the future “will be visited with severe sanctions.”
On the matter between Evangelist Charity O. Akah V. Alpaca Price Nigeria Limited and Another, the NJC warned Hon. Justice M. A. Onyetenu of the Federal High Court for granting an ex-parte order without hearing the pending motion on notice and applications.