NJC reinstates Ofili Ajumogobia as Judge of Federal High Court

 

 

The National Judicial Council (NJC) has reinstated Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia, a judge of the Federal High Court who underwent criminal trial for years.

 

Mrs Ofili-Ajumogobia and Godwin Obla, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), were arraigned before the Federal High Court in Lagos in 2016 over allegations of money laundering.

 

The Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, John Tsoho, informed top management staff members of Mrs Ofili-Ajumogobia’s reinstatement in a circular dated 5 December.

 

Mr Tsoho said in the circular that the decision followed the outcome of a meeting held by the NJC reinstating the judge on 1 December.

 

The NJC had excluded the decision from the statement detailing the outcomes of the 1 December meeting. It was not clear why the council tried to conceal such a crucial decision from the public.

 

“Your Lordships are by this Circular letter notified that at the Meeting of the National Judicial Council held on the 1st of December, 2022, the Council reinstated the Hon. Justice R. N. Ofili-Ajumogobia as a Judicial Officer.

 

“The reinstatement takes instant effect and there shall be consequential posting,” the court’s Chief Judge’s circular had read.

 

In the circular seen by our correspondent, Mr Tsoho copied the court’s Chief Registrar, the director of the library and the deputy director of finance and accounts.

 

A source at the NJC who pleaded anonymity confirmed Mrs Ajumogobia’s reinstatement.

Background

In November 2016, the EFCC arraigned Mrs Ofili-Ajumogobia before the Federal High Court in Lagos on allegations of money laundering.

 

In October 2018, the NJC sacked Ms Ofili-Ajumogobia for various acts of misconduct including serving as the Director/Chief Executive Officer and sole signatory to a company, Nigel and Colive Company, contrary to the Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

 

The council noted in a statement announcing her dismissal on October 4, 2018, that several individuals, government officials and business partners lodged funds into various accounts belonging to Mrs Ofili-Ajumogobia.

 

She was accused of having a private communication with Mr Obla, while the latter’s case was pending before her.

 

But in November 2021, Lewis Allagoa, a judge of the Federal High Court in Lagos, discharged and acquitted, Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia, from allegations of fraud filed against her by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

 

Mr Allagoa’s judgement was based on an order by another federal judge, Binta Nyako, which quashed NJC’s recommendations, sacking Mrs Ofili-Ajumogobia.

 

 

In November 2019, Mrs Nyako recommended Mrs Ofili-Ajumogobia’s reinstatement.

 

Similarly, On 16 April 2019, a Lagos High Court struck out EFCC’s suit against Mrs Ofili-Ajumogobia and Mr Obla.

 

Relying on the case of Justice Nganjiwa and the federal government, the judge, Hakeem Oshodi, held that he lacked jurisdiction to hear the case.

 

Mr Oshodi said the EFCC “jumped the gun” in filing the first amended charge against Mrs Ofili-Ajumogobia and Mr Obla.

 

The judge noted that despite being aware of the decision in Mr Nganjiwa’s case, regarding the proper channel to discipline erring judges, the EFCC still went ahead with the trial by calling more witnesses, without first subjecting Mrs Ofili-Ajumogobia’s alleged misconduct to NJC’s internal disciplinary mechanism.

 

Another case of NJC’s flip-flop

Ms Ajumogobia’s case is not the first instance of NJC’s flip-flop on disciplinary decisions on judges.

 

In 2021, Mohammed Yunusa, another judge of the Federal High Court, who was prosecuted for over four years for allegedly taking bribes from lawyers, obtained a clearance letter from the NJC, which had earlier sent him on compulsory retirement for misconduct.

 

He used the NJC’s letter to secure the termination of his bribery trial at the Special Offences Division of the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja in January 2021.

 

The NJC had in 2016 recommended Mr Yunusa for compulsory retirement for misconduct.

 

It followed a petition by the Civil Society Network Against Corruption (CSNAC), accusing Mr Yunusa of arbitrarily restraining anti-corruption agencies from performing their statutory duties.

 

He was then placed on suspension pending the approval of NJC’s recommendation for his compulsory retirement by President Muhammadu Buhari.

 

But for years, President Buhari did not attend to the recommendation, a development that opened a window for Mr Yunusa to approach the NJC to review his case.

 

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and professor of law, Yemi Akinseye-George, sent a letter pleading for a review of the judge’s case to the NJC.

 

The NJC, at its meeting held in August 2020, set up a three-man panel to review the case against the judge.

 

The report of the review committee was considered and deliberated upon by the NJC at its 93rd meeting held on 17 December 2020.

 

The NJC accepted the findings and recommendations of the committee and decided to lift his suspension from office, while it awaited the decision of the President on the recommendation.

 

Although, Mr Yunusa was charged by the EFCC with bribery, different from what the NJC had sanctioned him for, the judge, in January 2021 applied to the trial court to dismiss the bribery case against him on the grounds of the council’s clearance.

 

The Lagos court, on 25 January 2021, discharged Mr Yunusa of the bribery charges, citing the NJC’s December 23, 2020, letter which lifted the suspension slammed on him in July 2016.

 

The judge, Serifat Solebo, discharged Mr Yunusa, after overruling an objection raised by the lawyer prosecuting the case on behalf of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Wahab Shittu.