NJC to probe 15 judges over misconduct

The National Judicial Council (NJC) has set up 15 high-powered panels to investigate allegations of gross misconduct brought against 15 judges of the federal and state high courts.

A statement by the Director of Information, Soji Oye, said the NJC under the chairmanship of Hon. Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, GCON, took the decision at its 99th meeting held on November 30 and December 1, 2022.

Oye said the decision was a sequel to the submission of recommendations of three Preliminary Complaint Assessment Committees which considered 66 petitions forwarded to them by the council from all over the federation.

He said the council, however, dismissed the petitions against 51 judicial officers, of the federal and state high courts for either lack of merit, being subjudice, or being matters for an appeal or that the concerned judge had retired from service.

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He also announced the formal presentation of the reviewed Judicial Information Technology Policy which established the general requirements and responsibilities for the Nigerian judiciary systems and information.

“The policy provides for the guidance of Courts and Judicial Bodies in protecting Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability (CIA) of judiciary function and process,” he said.

“It also stipulates guidance for acceptable use of system, services and technologies as well as provisions for secure storage of judicial data and recovery processes in the event of emergencies or distress. It further provides guidelines and incident management policies including Data Centre deployment and use policies.

“The scope is intended for all Courts and Judicial Bodies in Nigeria including staff of the Nigerian judiciary, employed or contracted to any judicial body handling information that is generated, received, stored, transmitted, or printed.

“It encompasses all personal or judiciary identifiable data held in their courts and judicial bodies’ systems and process including supporting mechanisms and technologies for managing such data,” the statement added.

Oye said reports from standing and ad-hoc committees of the council were also presented at the meeting as well as notifications of the retirement of 16 judges and notification of the death of a judge.