From Godwin Tsa Abuja

Chief Justice of Nigeria(CJN), Ibrahim Muhammad, has summoned six state chief judges over conflicting court orders on the same subject matter in the last one month.

They affected judges are those from Rivers, Cross River, Anambra, Imo, Jigawa and Kebbi states.

Muhammad who is also Chairman, National Judicial Council (NJC) issued the summons yesterday was specifically irked by the huge embarrassment caused the Nigeria’s judiciary by the actions of the six judges  who issued the conflicting orders upon ex-parte applications by some political parties.

A copy of the summons which was sighted by our reporter directed the affected chief judges are to appear before the CJN  to explain what warranted their issuance of conflicting orders by courts of coordinate jurisdiction on the same issue.

The summons read: “My attention has been drawn to media reports to the effect that some courts of coordinate jurisdiction were granting conflicting exparte orders on the same subject matter. It has become expedient for me to invite you for a detailed briefing on the development.  This is even more compelling having regard to earlier NJC warning to judicial officers on the need to be circumspect in granting exparte applications.”

Daily Sun learnt that the meeting with the CJN is a prelude to a  larger meeting with the NJC likely to hold next week.

“The CJN who is miffed by the unfortunate development intends to use the meeting to be briefed of the facts on the issue for an informed NJC deliberation. The CJN  swung into action in order to stem the tide of what clearly has been an embarrassment to the judiciary in the past couple of weeks,” a source told Daily Sun.

Meanwhile, the CJN has admonished staff of the judiciary to adhere to the provisions of the Code of Conduct for court employees within and outside court premises.

He  gave the admonition yesterday  in Abuja while declaring open the 2021 National Workshop for Chief Registrars, Deputy Chief Registrars, Directors and Secretaries of the Judicial Service Commission/Committee.

He called on judicial workers to make transparency and integrity their watchword in the conduct of court affairs across the country.

The workshop was organised by the National Judicial Institute (NJI).

The CJN represented by the Administrator, NJI, Justice Salisu Garuba, said the establishment of a transparent system facilitates access to all and safeguards human rights. He called for synergy among court staff to ensure the judiciary continues to function optimally.