The Nasarawa State Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has dismissed a chief magistrate for an alleged judicial misconduct. Chief Magistrate Emmanuel A. Jatau served in Masaka, Nasarawa State, before the sack. JSC also demoted His Lordship from Chief Magistrate II to Senior Magistrate I and stripped of all judicial duties. Medialord.ng learnt this followed a recommendation from the Committee for Appointments, Promotions, and Discipline (CAPD).
The controversy began in August 2024 when human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, submitted a petition to the Chief Judge of Nasarawa State. Effiong accused him of misconduct, including forgery, abuse of power, and illegal activities. The petition claimed that Jatau’s court used a Federal High Court (FHC) stamp from Lagos, signed by FHC staff member M. Tofowomo-Adegbite, dated January 8, 2024.
Effiong called out Jatau for actions he said violated public trust. “This act damages the judiciary’s credibility and undermines the rule of law,” Effiong reportedly wrote in his petition.
Reaction and background to story
Reacting to the judgement, Effiong expressed satisfaction. “I commend the Nasarawa State Judicial Service Commission for showing him the way out. Nigeria will never change if those who desecrate public offices are not held accountable.
He blamed the police for perpetrating illegal activities. “This evil practice of the police brandishing fake warrants from Nasarawa Magistrates for cases outside the State has been going on for a long time. Lawyers have been complaining. My friend in Abuja, Seprebofa M Oyeghe Esq. had to deal with the same issue last year,” he wrote on his X handle.
The case concerned Chioma Edoka Okoli. “Chioma Edoka Okoli was arrested in Lagos, detained in Lagos, and moved to Abuja where she was further detained. She has never been to Nasarawa in her life. When we sued them, they concocted arrest warrant and remand warrant from Nasarawa.” Effiong criticised initiating legal actions without proper proceedings as authorised by law. “How do you remand someone without proper proceedings taking place as mandated by law?”
He said they were denied access to the court’s file. “We demanded for the CTCs of the warrants and what we got were documents exhibited by the police in a fundamental rights suit at the Federal High Court with the stamp of the Federal High Court Lagos and name of registrar of the FHC on them. How can documents certified in Nasarawa by a Magistrate who purportedly issued them in Nasarawa be identical with the exhibits relied upon by the police in Lagos?”
Other cases of judicial misconduct in Nigeria
Jatau’s case is not the first incident of misconduct involving judicial officers in Nigeria. In 2023, the judiciary authorities in Rivers State dismissed a magistrate for allegedly taking bribes to influence a land dispute. Similarly, Lagos judicial also suspended a magistrate in 2022 for issuing fake court orders favouring powerful individuals. These repeated scandals often raise public debate about the integrity of Nigeria’s judiciary.
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