Embattled Judge loses bid to stop sacking by Buhari

Andrew Orolua, Abuja.

Embattled Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Gladys Olotu who was indicted for dereliction of duty and recommended for compulsory retirement has lost her legal battle seeking to stop President Muhammadu Buhari from enforcing the recommendation of the National Judicial Council (NJC) sacking her from the bench.

The National Industrial Court (NIC) in a judgment on the application she filed against the President, National Judicial Council (NJC), Attorney General of the Federation, Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, held that the NJC’s recommendation for her sack was proper and met all rules of natural justice.

Justice E. N. Agbakoba who delivered the judgment also stated that the rules of natural justice were not breached by the investigation panel that probed her dereliction of duty. The National Judicial Council also followed the laid down procedures in arriving at its recommendations that Justice Olotu be compulsorily removed from office.

The judge stated that after taken an argument from parties involved found that due process was followed by the NJC in arriving at its conclusion. “I have carefully summarized the positions of all sides, the argument of opposing counsel and having carefully reviewed all the authorities cited, read through all the relevant processes and digested the contention of the parties, in my view, the issue for determination in this matter was whether the NJC and its committee acted within the scope of their jurisdiction or power when they entertained and determined petitions against the applicant pursuant to which the NJC recommended the applicant for compulsory retirement.

” All in all, I find that the rule of natural justice were not breached and that the investigation panel and the second respondent (NJC), followed the laid down procedure in carrying out their functions.

“The applicant has not satisfied the requirements of law for the grant of the reliefs sought in this judicial review and this matter is hereby dismissed”.

The applicant had prayed the National Industrial Court in Abuja for an order to stop the President and other defendants in the matter from given effect to the recommendation that she should be sacked compulsorily as a judge based on her indictment for dereliction of duty.

Specifically, Justice Olotu who was indicted in 2014 by the NJC and recommended for removal from office applied for order of the National Industrial Court to prohibit the respondents from carrying out the recommendation on the grounds that due process of law was not followed.

In the suit filed and argued on her behalf by her lawyers, Dr Alfred Eghobamien (SAN), Ladi Rorimi-Williams (SAN), and Sunday Ameh (SAN), the applicant claimed that section 36 of the 1999 constitution which deal with fair hearing was breached by the NJC and its Investigative Panel in arriving at the recommendation that she should be compulsorily retired.

The applicant further contended that the petition against her bordered on her failure to deliver a judgment within 90 days and not on misconduct that could carry heavy punishment such as compulsory retirement.

She further complained that the recommendation by the NJC to the President for her compulsory retirement as a High Court Judge was done in bad faith and in breach of extant codes and rules applicable to her appointment.

Justice Olotu who was appointed a Federal High Court Judge by former President Olusegun Obasanjo on July 28, 2000, and inaugurated by the then Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mohammed Lawal Uwais on September 1, 2000 claimed that she heard of NJC recommendation in the media on February 27, 2014, to the effect that she had been recommended for a compulsory retirement.

But the NJC, in their defence claimed that six petitions containing various allegations against the plaintiff were received and that copies were made available to her, requesting her reaction to the allegations and which she did.

The NJC claimed that two different Investigative Panels were set up and at the end of their investigation into the petitions it was found the applicant was culpable. Therefore, the council recommended her for rwmoval from office.

Meanwhile, the applicant has approached the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division on appeal urging the appellate court to set aside the decision of the National Industrial Court on the grounds of miscarriage of justice.