Kogi Assembly Recommends Removal Of Chief Judge

                      

The Kogi State House of Assembly has recommended the removal of Justice Nasir Ajanah as the state Chief Judge over allegations of gross misconduct.

This followed the adoption of the report of the House Committee on Public Accounts on the Auditor General’s Report on 2016 Financial Statements.

Ahmed Mohammed, the chairman of the committee, said the Chief Judge should step aside to defend himself over the alleged indictment by the Auditor-General.

Mohammed said the Public Accounts Committee was set up in line with Section 103 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) at the plenary sitting of the House on Monday, December 24, 2018.

The committee according to him, was mandated to investigate reported cases of financial breaches, non-compliance with financial regulations and poor handling of financial records by various Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the state government.

He said there were allegations that the Kogi State Judiciary, during the year ended December 2016, expended its budget above the approved limits provided in some subheads as contained in the 2016 Appropriation Law to the tune of N7,574,850 without the approval of virement application.

The committee also recommended that the Chief Registrar be referred to the state Judicial Service Commission for disciplinary action and that the state government should commence immediate payment of judicial staff salaries.

However, the Chief Judge, in a reactionary statement to the decision of the state assembly said the matter was before the National Judicial Council and that there was a subsisting court order restraining Governor Yahaya Bello from removing him.

Judiciary workers in the state had protested against the calls for the Chief Judge's removal on Monday.

However, through his spokesperson, Saqeeb Saeed, the Chief Judge urged workers of the judiciary to remain calm, stating that the rule of law shall prevail in the end.