Court orders two sitting judges to resign from commission investigating Ganduje case

A federal high court sitting in Kano state has ordered two judges to resign as chairmen of a commission of inquiry set up to investigate the case of Abdullahi Ganduje, a former governor of the state and current national chairman of the All Progressives Congress.

Recall that Governor Abba Yusuf appointed two judges to the Judicial Commission for the Recovery of Misappropriated Public Property and Assets and the Judicial Commission to Investigate Political Violence and Missing Persons during the tenure of former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje.

In a ruling on Thursday, presiding judge Simon Amobeda said Farouk Adamu and Zuwaira Yusuf should not have accepted the governor’s nomination because they are still serving as state high court judges.

Mr Amobeda issued the order while delivering judgment in a case filed by Mr Ganduje in which he asked the court to restrain Mr Yusuf from investigating his administration.

The defendants in the suit are: the National Judicial Council (first defendant), the Revenue Mobilisation and Finance Allocation Commission (second), the Kano State Attorney General (third), Justice Farouk Lawan Adamu and Justice Zuwaira Yusuf as fourth and fifth defendants respectively.

Mr Amobeda gave the judges a 48-hour ultimatum to resign, failing which “the National Council of the Judiciary (first defendant) shall immediately stop the payment of all salaries, allowances and benefits earmarked for judicial officers from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation to judges.”

He added that the governor’s action to set up a commission of inquiry to investigate Mr Ganduje’s case without appealing to an earlier judgment of Justice A. Liman, who held that Mr Ganduje’s case could only be investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), constitutes an abuse of power and undermining the sanctity of the judiciary.

“That, in accordance with the combined provisions of section 153(1)(i) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, CFRN, ​​1999 (as amended), paragraph 21(d) of Part I of the Third Schedule of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and sections 1, 3 and 6 of the Commission of Inquiry Law, Chapter 26, Laws of Kano State, the Governor of Kano State has no power to appoint the 4th and 5th Accused and administer to them the subsequent oath of office to serve as Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry appointed by the Governor of Kano State, an office reserved for the Commissioners of the Kano State Government to exercise the executive powers conferred on them by the Governor of Kano State and to restrain them from exercising their functions as Judges of the High Court of Kano State, without recourse to the 1st Accused.

“That by the cumulative effect of the provisions of Sections 6, 84, 153(1)(1), 271(2), 272 read with paragraph 21(c) of Part 1 of the Third Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the 4th and 5th accused persons are not legally permitted, while they continue to pretend to occupy the office of Judge of the High Court of Kano State, to accept appointments as Chairmen of Commissions of Inquiry with quasi-judicial powers equivalent to those of a District Court and subject to the control of a Judge of the High Court of Kano State.

“That, by the combined effect of Sections 5 and 6 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the action of the Governor of Kano State in appointing the fourth and fifth defendants as chairmen of the Commissions of Inquiry in accordance with the provisions of Sections 3 and 6 of the Commission of Inquiry Law, Cap. 26, Laws of Kano State, instead of making appointments from among the Commissioners of the Kano State Government, amounts to an infringement and subversion of the judicial arm of government, a breach of the doctrine of separation of powers, a grave breach of the Constitution and gross misconduct on the part of the Governor of Kano State and the third defendants, who took the oath of office and swore allegiance to the fourth and fifth defendants.

“That by the cumulative effect of the provisions of Sections 5, 6, 84 and 271 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and Paragraph 21(c) of Part I of the Third Schedule thereto, as well as the provisions of the Preamble and Rule 3.7 of the Revised Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria issued by the 1st defendant, the 4th and 5th defendants, having accepted the executive appointment as Chairmen of Commissions of Inquiry, have abandoned their judicial functions and have converted their courtrooms into places of exercise of the executive functions assigned to them by the Governor of Kano State, cannot at the same time continue to hold office as Judges of the High Court of Kano State and cannot be entitled to the salaries and allowances of judicial officers fixed by the 2nd defendant and paid by the 1st defendant.

“In light of the decision of this Honourable Court coram: Justice AM Liman in case No. FHC/KN/195/2023 (between Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje v. Nigeria Police Force & Ors) delivered on 5th March 2024, wherein it was held that the plaintiff in the present case can only be investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), it is an abuse of power and undermining the sanctity of the judiciary by the Governor of Kano State to appoint a Commission of Inquiry, which is inferior to this Court, to supposedly investigate the administration of the plaintiff.

“That the 4th and 5th accused, who are serving judicial officers, shall respectively resign from their positions as Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry into the Recovery of Misappropriated Public Properties and Assets and Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry into Political Violence and Missing Persons and shall also immediately cease to exercise the executive functions entrusted to them by the Governor of Kano State in the courtrooms designated for the resolution of disputes between persons and authorities in Kano State.

“In the event that the fourth and fifth defendants fail to comply with this order within 48 hours of its service, the first defendant shall immediately stop payment of all salaries, allowances and benefits earmarked for judicial officers from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation to the fourth and fifth defendants while they are in office as chairmen of the commissions of inquiry,” Justice Amobeda stated.

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