Toba Owojaiye reporting
Abuja, Nigeria
The National Judicial Council (NJC) has dropped the hammer on three federal judges, suspending them for one year without pay over acts that it bluntly described as disgraceful and contrary to the ethics of the bench — a move that casts a harsh light on the rot festering within Nigeria’s judicial system.
Truth Live News gathered that those penalized include Justice Jane E. Inyang of the Court of Appeal, Uyo Division; Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja Division; and Justice Aminu Baffa Aliyu of the Federal High Court, Zamfara Division. Their infractions, according to the NJC, range from recklessly granting ex parte orders to obstructing justice and shielding individuals from law enforcement — a cocktail of misconduct that paints a damning portrait of judicial impunity.
Justice Jane E. Inyang’s offense was particularly egregious: she issued an ex parte order allowing the sale of business assets belonging to Udeme Esset — a former oil marketer — at the interlocutory stage, effectively passing judgment before trial. The NJC said she flagrantly breached Rule 3(5) of the Revised Code of Conduct, turning what should have been a procedural safeguard into a tool of dispossession.
In Abuja, Justice Inyang Ekwo handed down a ruling in a criminal matter without naming the parties — a bizarre and opaque act that not only violated the rules of fair hearing but also undermined the transparency expected of court proceedings. Worse still, he issued the ruling without hearing parties in the case, thereby flouting Rules 3.1 and 3.3 of the judicial code. For this, he too has been yanked off the bench for a year.
Justice Aminu Baffa Aliyu’s case adds yet another layer to the judiciary’s institutional decline. In a brazen abuse of judicial power, he granted an order restraining security agencies from performing their statutory duties in a suit between the Zamfara State Government and the EFCC. Not only did this flout the doctrine of stare decisis, but it also gave the appearance of a judge actively aiding obstruction of justice. He has been suspended, barred from promotion for three years, and placed on a judicial watch list.
While these sanctions are welcome, they also expose a judiciary deeply compromised by political interests, personal ambition, and a culture of unchecked authority. The NJC did clear some judges of wrongdoing after petitions against them were found to lack merit — among them Justices A.O. Awogboro, C.N. Mbonu Nwenyi, and R.B. Haastrup — but the stain left by those suspended speaks louder.
This latest round of disciplinary action sends a sobering message: the bench is no longer a sanctuary of justice but increasingly a theatre of impunity, where courtrooms are manipulated for personal or political gain. If Nigeria’s democracy is to survive, cleansing the judiciary can no longer be optional — it must become urgent, relentless, and uncompromising.