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Embattled Judges Know Fate, Nov 3 …As NJC Holds Emergency Session
The National Judicial
Council (NJC), has convened an emergency meeting to decide the fate of the seven judges currently under investigation over their alleged involvement in acts of corruption.
The meeting, to be presided over by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, will hold between Wednesday, November 2, and Thursday, November 3, at the NJC Secretariat situated inside the Supreme Court complex in Abuja.
It was learnt that issues to be considered at the meeting, include the request by some of the judges, whose homes were raided between October 7, and October 8, by the Department of State Service (DSS), for leave of the council to enable them institute legal action against the DSS.
A source at the NJC, who pleaded anonymity, equally disclosed that the meeting would afford the legal body the opportunity to further deliberate on whether or not the embattled judges should step down from the Bench as requested by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
“Besides, the council will also consider, at the meeting, the request by a non-governmental organisation, Citizens Advocacy for Social and Economic Rights (CASER), for live broadcast of sensitive court cases”, the source added.
The group had, in a letter it forwarded to the CJN on February 26, sought the NJC’s approval for court proceedings to be relayed live to Nigerians.
It argued that such measure would enhance greater transparency in the justice delivery system in Nigeria, saying the request was necessitated by “rising public consciousness of the role of the courts in ensuring justice, public order and stability of Nigeria.”
As a follow up, the group also wrote the CJN on October 20, insisting that the clampdown on judges over allegations of corruption further underscored the importance and urgency of its request.
“CASER is convinced that live media broadcast of court proceedings will debunk allegations of corruption, and help in sustaining the integrity of the judiciary in Nigeria,” the group said.
“Live broadcast of court proceedings in Nigeria has its foundation in the constitutional provision of Section 36 (3) and (4)”.
Among the judges seeking the NJC leave to drag the DSS and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, to court over the “sting operation” that was carried out against them, are two justices of the Supreme Court, Inyang Okoro and Sylvester Ngwuta.
Others include two judges at the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, Justices Ademola Adeniyi and Nnamdi Dimgba.
The judges, in separate letters to the NJC, maintained that the DSS, by its action, violated their constitutional rights.
All the judges were arrested and subsequently granted administrative bail except Dimgba, who was not arrested though his home was thoroughly ransacked by the DSS.
NJC had earlier sacked Justice Mohammed Tsamiya of the Court of Appeal, Ilorin, and the Chief Judge of Enugu State, I. A. Umezulike, after it found merit in the petitions alleging misconduct against them.
The council equally okayed the prosecution of Kabir Auta of the Kano High Court, even as it dismissed the petition DSS lodged against Justice Mu’azu Pindiga of the Federal High Court, Gombe Division.
Although about 21 judges are currently under the radar of the DSS, so far, only 15 of them have been taken in for interrogation.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), is equally investigating some judges involved in alleged dubious transactions.
Dimgba and Ademola had, in different letters, dated October 10 and 11, applied for the permission of the NJC to file actions against the DSS for the enforcement of their fundamental human rights.
Dimgba, in his letter, told the NJC that his court had been under the radar of the DSS since September 16, when his registrar was detained after the agency invited her to its office for a chat.
He said the registrar was released but re-invited on September 26, after which her phones were seized by the DSS.
Similarly, Okoro and Ngwuta, while accusing the DSS of violating their rights, said their ordeal arose from their refusal to help the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, to pervert justice in election disputes involving the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
News
RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.