The National Judicial Council (NJC) yesterday recommended Justice Kudirati Kekere-Ekun to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for appointment as the next Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).
This is just as the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) declined comments on the alleged infractions in her Asset Declaration form.
When asked about the petition against Justice Kekere-Ekun, the officer in charge of press affairs in the bureau, Veronica Kato, declined comment, saying that whatever the CCB is doing regarding any petition cannot be disclosed.
This decision of the NJC is on the heels of the fact that the incumbent CJN, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, will formally bow out of office next week, on Thursday, August 22, 2024.
If approved by President Tinubu, Justice Kekere-Ekun would be the second female CJN after Justice Muktar Aloma.
Besides, the Council also recommended 28 candidates for appointment as judges of states’ courts and a candidate for appointment as Kadi of the Sharia Court of the FCT, Abuja, to their various state governors
The recommendation was made by NJC at its 106th meeting of August 14 and 15, presided over by the outgoing CJN, Ariwoola.
A statement by the NJC director of information, Mr Soji Oye, and released on Thursday in Abuja contained the recommendations.
At the meeting, six candidates were recommended to Kwara State governor for appointment as judges of the High Court in the state.
They are Olawoyin Ibijoke Olabisi, Abdulrazaq Fatimah Funsho, Folorunsho Oba Muritala, Dikko Yusuf Adebayo, Adeniyi Oluwatosin Adenike and Osuolale-Ajayi Temitope Olalekan.
Rivers State has eight candidates for appointment into its high court and they are Onyiri Frank, Ugoji Victor Chinedum, Obomanu Godswill Vidal, Oguguo Rita Chituru, Fubara Alatuwo Elkanah, Kokpan Bariyima Sylvester, Obu Ibietela Innocent Madighi and Wifa-Adedipe Lesi.
On its part, Ondo State has six nominees and they are Daomi Williams Adebisi, Fabuluje Adewumi William, Ogunwumiju Mobayonle Idowu, Demehin-Ogunbayo Inumidun Happiness, Kpemi Ojufisintei Justinah and Adegoroye Olufunke Adeola.
Benue Judiciary has recommended four candidates as judges and they comprise Kor Vincent Tersoo, Ikwulono Maigida Maimuna, Adagba Nguhemen Julie andT or Damian Tersugh.
In addition, the Council forwarded two nominees for appointment as judges of Benue Sate Customary Court of Appeal and they are Onche Ogah Inalegwu and Igba Theophilus Terhile.
NJC nominated one candidate, Zubairu Murtala Ja’afaru, for Kaduna state high court.
Muhammad Lawal Munir was nominated as Kadi for the Federal Capital Territory Sharia Court of Appeal.
Meanwhile, a group under the umbrella body of the Oduduwa Descendants Coalition for Justice has dragged Justice Kekere-Ekun before the Code of Conduct Bureau over alleged false declaration of assets.
In a letter dated August 10, 2024, and signed by the national coordinator, Comrade Kehinde Johnson Olawale, the group said the petition is to ensure a proper investigation into the assets declared by the judge.
Olawale said the petition is crucial as Justice Kekere-Ekun is likely to occupy the office of CJN.
In the petition, the group alleged that the incoming CJN contravened the law by not fully declaring her assets when she became a justice of the Court of Appeal.
The group also accused Kekere-Ekun of false assets declaration upon becoming a judge of the apex court and urged the CCB to investigate the allegations.
Part of the petition read: “We are a body of various socio-political and cultural groups with a mission of advancing good conduct and ethical values on the part of those occupying public office.
“It is because the subject of this petition is aspiring to occupy the highest judicial office in the land that makes it expedient for us to forward this petition, with the hope that it will be treated with dispatch and a high level of seriousness.
“At the various times she occupied public office as a judicial officer, Hon. Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun failed or refused to abide by the provisions of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, which has been in force since 1991.
“For example, in May 1999, at the end of her tenure as chairman of The Robbery and Firearms Tribunal, Ikeja Zone II, Lagos, she failed to submit her assets declaration form to your Bureau, as mandated by the Enabling Act and the Nigeria Constitution.
“Also in 2013, at the end of her tenure as a Justice of the Court of Appeal Nigeria, she failed to fill and submit her assets declaration form.
“The assets declaration form she eventually filled and submitted upon assumption of office as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria contained false declarations and unverified statements.
“By this petition, we are requesting that you use your good offices to ensure that the above allegations are thoroughly investigated, to avoid the big embarrassment that may befall the nation if the right thing is not done timorously.”
The group asserted that it hoped the report of the investigation would assist the National Judicial Council and the Senate to come to a balanced decision as to the suitability of Kekere-Ekun for appointment as the next CJN.
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