President Muhammadu Buhari has finally terminated the appointments of Justice Ademola and Tokode, two allegedly corrupt judges of the Federal High Court.
Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu made the President's order on the termination of the judges appointment known on Friday, February 9, 2018.
Affected Judges
Justice O.O Tokode and Justice A.F.A Ademola are the two affected judges by the decision of President Buhari to rid the judicial system off corrupt practices.
While
Justice Tokode is a Federal High Court judge in Benin, Edo State,
Justice Ademola is a justice of the federal high court in Abuja.
Tokode was dismissed by the President while Ademola was retired compulsorily.
Following
his dismissal, Tokode was asked to refund all salaries and allowances
“earned illegally” from December 2, 2015, when he was sworn in as a
judge.
play
Justice Tokode(Vanguard NG)
In December 2017, the National Judicial Council had recommended the retirement of the two judges over allegations bothering on professional misconduct.
Justice Ademola's corruption controversy
Justice Ademola was one of the judges that were investigated and arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) after a raid on his house in October 2016 on suspicion of corruption.
The judges arrested during the 12 hours raid on Friday, October 7, also included Justices Sylvester Ngwuta and John Okoro, both of the Supreme Court.
Operatives recovered the sum of $800,000 from the simultaneous raid that shocked the nation and dominated headlines.
The
DSS disclosed that the sum of N54 million, $171,779, 4,400 Euros,
1,010 Rupees, and 80 pounds was found in the residence of Justice
Ademola alone.
President Buhari's stand on judiciary appointees
President Buhari's stand on the allegations against the two judges were made known by his spokesman, Garba Shehu.
Shehu said the President's decision followed the recommendations from the National Judicial Council (NJC) in December 2017.
“The
president urges judicial officers to be alive to their responsibilities
and eschew corruption in the discharge of their duties,” the statement read.
He said: “The
president’s position is in furtherance of the executive powers vested
in him under section 5 of the 1999 Constitution, which allows him as the
appointing authority to exercise same reasonably, taking all relevant
factors into consideration.
“Nigerians
are assured that President Buhari will issue his approval or otherwise
as soon as the process of the background verification is completed.”