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Nigeria: Appeal Court Judges, Opene, Adeniji Sacked

Cosmas Ekpunobi

13 May 2005

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Abuja — PRESIDENT Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday approved the immediate dismissal of two justices of the Court of Appeal for alleged corrupt practices.

The justices are Okwuchukwu Opene and D.A. Adeniji.

Their dismissal followed the recommendation of the National Judicial Council (NJC) which examined their involvement in petitions arising from the 2003 general elections in Anambra State.

Both justices, it would be recalled, were part of the Appeal Court panel that sat in Enugu.

President Obasanjo in a letter to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Mohammed Uwais and read on the floor of the Senate yesterday by the Senate President, Ken Nnamani approved dismissal of the justices.

President Obasanjo said the decision followed the recommendations of the Attorney-General in a letter dated April 28.

"I attach great importance to the recommendations of the panel of eminent judges, jurists and lawyers with only couple of laymen which constitute the NJC.

"Also, I believe that the war we are waging on corruption must not be showed or dented in any way.

For this reason, I hereby approved the recommendation of the NJC for the dismissal of the two justices," President Obasanjo stated.

It would be recalled that the NJC had similarly recommended that disciplinary measure be imposed on Justice Stanley Nnaji formerly of the Enugu High Court for his alleged role in the Anambra political crisis.

He was subsequently removed from the bench by the federal government.

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