President Goodluck Jonathan has approved the immediate retirement of Justice Charles Archibong following the recommendation of the National Judicial Council.
Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke who disclosed this to state House correspondents said the president's approval of the immediate retirement of the Justice was to strengthen the fight against corruption.
The Attorney General said: "this is to inform you that President Goodluck Jonathan is in receipt of a recommendation from the National Judicial Council recommending the compulsory retirement of Justice Charles Archibong and Mr. President has approved that it should take immediate effect.
"It is Mr. President's belief that once we are able to cleanse the judiciary of corruption, then our fight against corruption in its entirety will take a firm root and will be on its way to success" he said.
It would be recalled that the National Judicial Council had said last week that it had recommended Justice Archibong to president Jonathan for retirement.
A statement from the Acting Director, Information of the NJC, Mr. Soji Oye, while noting that the Council took the decision at an emergency meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, stated that the Judge also lied in his controversial ruling in the case involving a former managing director of Intercontinental Bank, Erastus Akingbola.
The statement noted: "Hon. Justice Archibong was recommended for compulsory retirement to President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, pursuant to the findings by the council on the following complaints leveled against him; that the judge dismissed the grievous charges against an accused person (Erastus Akingbola) without taking his plea.
"That he refused to release the Certified True Copy of his ruling to the lawyers. That the judge issued a bench warrant on some officials of the Peoples Democratic Party for contempt even when the counsel who was directed by the court to serve them an affidavit had not been able to serve the contempt application.
"That he made unfounded and caustic remarks on professional competence of some Senior Advocates of Nigeria. That there were glaring procedural irregularities which showed that Archibong did not have a full grasp of the law and procedure of the court.
"That he granted the leave sought in the originating summons that had no written address of the parties and without hearing both parties in the originating summons after he had earlier overruled the preliminary objection."
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Untill bad and corrupt Judges are shown the door out of the Nationa's Judicial system, all talks about cleaning the country from culture of corruption will be of no effect. This is where the CBN Governor is standing alone in using the nation's culture to deal with deep rooted and embedded corrupt Executive mambers of all branches of our political , Executive and Judicial arm of government. Why do you think the U.S and governments elsewhere finds it necessary to shake the Judiciary each timea new government is in place ? The reason generally is more often to get rid of deadwoods in the old regime and re-establish authority with new hands. I refuse to understand why pathetically corrupt Nigeria have to allow old and deeply corrupt Senior government Officials whose productive capacity have become exhausted remain to perpetuate culture of entitlement whenever there's new government in place as if those who advice the new power that be have no idea of the character of the the nation they 've been players for donkey years. Remember some year ago, even the weak government of Babangida had to carry out monumental clean up of the so called Permanent Secretaies all over the nation , he also branded thaem as imposible human machines who have become too obsolute to allow the wheels of government to move forward. You can not bring life to new administration in the Nigerian government without the art of Change. Inject younger men and women into every department in government to bring new blood , that is how it is done the world over. That is the route to bring in change agents into the nations political and administrative fabric . Nigerian Judges are the very reason we have endemic culture of corruption . Changing them only when they become too rotten is not the answer. We must beging to be pro-active to forestall these criminals from highjacking the power base of government like they have been priviledged to do over time and time again .
In other words, Justice Archibond is super corrupt, but the system looked the other way all while. By the way, who is not corrupt in Nigeria, the President included? Jonathan is making a mockery of governance. Nigeria is crying it's eye out for a strong foresighted leader, and not the likes of GEJ.