By Dipo Awojobi – The National Judicial Council on Friday revealed that it had recommended the compulsory retirement from office a judge in the Ilorin Division of the Court of Appeal, Justice Mohammed Tsamiya to President Muhammadu Buhari.
Justice Tasmiya was said to have been. sanctioned over allegations of meeting with a party to a case before him, Nnamdi Oji, three times and on each occasion demanding the sum of N200m to influence the Court of Appeal panel in Owerri, which sat on election cases that arose from the 2015 general elections.
In a statement by its Acting Director, Information, Mr. Soji Oye, the NJC said it also recommended the Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice I.A Umezulike, for compulsory retirement and Justice Kabiru Auta of Kano State High Court for dismissal.
The council recommended Auta for prosecution over an allegation of collecting N197m from a man, Alhaji Kabiru who wrote a petition to th NJC against him.
It said that it recommended to Governor Lawrence Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, the compulsory retirement of the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Umezulike, for delivering judgment in a case 126 days after final addresses were adopted by parties, and for other instances of abuse of office.
Justice Umezulike, during his book launch, reportedly received a donation of N10m from a businessman, Prince Arthur Eze, during the pendency of two cases in the judge’s court, and in both which the business mogul (Arthur Eze) was said to have had “vested interest”.
It also recommended to Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, of Kano State, the dismissal of Justice Kabiru Auta.
