The National Judicial Council has suspended Justices Ibrahim D. Shekarau and Edward A. E. Okpe just as it recommended the appointment of 12 new justices for the Court of Appeal.
Shekarau and Okpe were suspended for one year without pay over judicial misconduct.
The NJC found Shekarau guilty of “judicial misconduct involving the grant of an ex parte order,” adding that he “acted in bad faith, failed to observe due process and demonstrated a lack of professional competence.”
Okpe was suspended for “granting an ex parte application that led to committal proceedings against the petitioner without affording him the opportunity to be heard.”
Still on disciplinary matters, the NJC rejected appeals filed by eight Imo judges compulsorily retired over age falsification, saying the judges “failed to present fresh evidence capable of justifying a reversal of the sanctions imposed on them.”
It, however, reinstated T. I. Nze after he presented new evidence to the review committee.
The NJC said it also dismissed 73 petitions against judicial officers for “lack of merit, want of diligent prosecution or for being time-barred,” while 11 petitions were recommended for further investigation.
The council also said it commended nine judges for exemplary performance during the 2024 and 2025 legal years and approved the issuance of 256 letters to judicial officers over performance-related matters.
The decisions were reached at the council’s 111th meeting held on May 13 under the chairmanship of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Kudirat Kekere-Ekun.
Spokesperson of the NJC, Kemi Babalola-Ogedengbe, said those recommended fr appointment are Yakubu Abdulhammeed Mohammed, Monisola Oluwatoyin Abodunde, Raphael Ajuwa, Elias Ojie Abua, Mbalamen Jennifer Ijohor, Sabiu Bala Shuaibu, James Kolawole Omotosho, Emeka Nwite, Dauda Njane Buba, Sanusi Kado, Enikuomehin Ademola and Julcit Veronica Dadom as new Justices of the Court of Appeal.
According to him, the appointments were aimed “to fill vacancies arising from the elevation and retirement of judicial officers across various levels of the judiciary and to strengthen the capacity of courts for effective justice delivery.”
The Council also recommended Christine T. Clement Ende as judge of the Benue State High Court, alongside Ibrahim Abdullahi Yakubu and Bala Salisu Daura as Kadis of the Katsina State Sharia Court of Appeal.
It said the consideration of Yakubu and Daura was initially stepped down due to a petition challenging their eligibility in view of their retirement from public service, but the council later concluded that “the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) does not prohibit retired public servants from judicial appointment.”
The council said its position was guided by the Court of Appeal decision in Ayoola v. Baruwa (1999), which held that “no constitutional provision precludes a retired legal practitioner from appointment to the Bench.”
According to a newly adopted policy, the NJC said retired public servants seeking judicial appointments must have “a minimum of ten years remaining in service before attaining the mandatory judicial retirement age.”
The appointment of Ijeoma O. Agugua as Acting Chief Judge of Imo State for another three months to allow completion of the process for appointing a substantive chief judge.
The NJC commended Ononeze-Madu for declining to be sworn in contrary to established constitutional procedure, describing the action as “a demonstration of institutional integrity and respect for the rule of law.”
