Nyako wants NJC To Sack Federal High Court, Adamawa CJs

Nyako wants NJC To Sack Federal High Court, Adamawa CJs 

Citing alleged "shameful and embarrassing activities geared to obstruct the course of justice, former  Governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako has urged the National Judicial Council (NJC) to investigate and sack the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court (FHC), Justice Ibrahim Auta and his counterpart in Adamawa State, Justice Ishaya Banu

The former governor, in two separate petitions to the NJC dated February 13, 2015, accused the two judges of constituting themselves into a clog in the wheel of justice of a suit he filed to challenge his impeachment by the Adamawa State House of Assembly.

It will be recalled that Nyako was impeached last year shortly after defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to All Progressives Congress (APC).

His deputy, Bala Ngilari, who stayed put in PDP, was said to have resigned moments before the House impeached Nyako, while the Speaker, Abubakar Fintiri was sworn-in as acting governor.

However, an Abuja Federal High Court had subsequently declared Ngilari's purported resignation as unlawful in that he tendered his resignation to the House, and not  Nyako, who was still in office as governor at the point of the said resignation.

On that basis, the court had ordered Fintiri to vacate office as acting governor, and ordered Ngilari to be sworn-in as substantive governor, an order which had since been carried out.

However, Nyako had filed a fundamental rights enforcement suit before the Federal High Court in Yola to contest the propriety of his impeachment.

Trial judge, Justice Bilikisu Aliyu had fixed February 12, 2015 for judgment after parties had adopted and argued their briefs before the court. But the judgment was not delivered as scheduled owing to the seizure of the case file by Justice Auta.

The seizure of the case file from the trial judge (Justice Aliyu) was said to have followed a petition written by a lawyer to the defendants in the suit.

While urging the NJC to urgently investigate the matter with the view to wielding the big stick, Nyako through his lawyer, Olukaya Ogungbeje, said the action of Justice Auta was in tandem with the respondents who had earlier 'vowed to use the CJ to forestall the judgment.'

Ogungbeje further queried: "Our concern is why would the counsel to the respondents, a senior member of the bar, write frivolous petition ostensibly to forestall the delivery of the judgment? Why would a counsel who had argued and adopted his processes before the court adjourned for judgment not want the judgment delivered?

"Why was the case file seized and sat upon by Justice Auta? Why would Justice Auta not want the reserved judgment delivered contrary to his recent admonition to to judges of the court at a workshop that political cases should be dispensed with before elections?

"Whose interest is Justice Auta serving by obstructing, forestalling and arresting the reserved judgment of the court on the 12th February, 2015? Why  would Justice Auta put the cart before the horse by having the case file transferred and siezed before treating the supposed frivolous petition to his office?"

Ogungbeje added that it was evident that the action of Justice Auta was strong enough to warrant the urgent intervention of the NJC.

On the allegation against Adamawa CJ, the lawyer said after frustrating a sister suit filed before him by Nyako, Justice Banu shamelessly applied to be joined as a party in the suit before Justice Aliyu.

Ogungbeje, who described Justice Banu as a political judge, added that the CJ went further to use the resources of the state judiciary to appeal against the ruling of Justice Aliyu dismissing his application to be joined as a party to the suit.

"Why does Justice Banu want to be joined in the suit when he is presently adjudicating on another case involving our client at the Adamawa State High Court if though at slow and snail pace? Whose interest is Justice Banu serving? Why has Justice Banu turned politician overnight? Why would Justice Banu be using the money of Adamawa State Judiciary to finance litigation? Why is Justice Banu bent on stopping the delivery of the court judgment in the suit," Ogungbeje queried.

He, therefore, urged the NJC to sanction the two judges so as to restore public confidence in the judiciary.