Imo: NJC Sacks Ag. President, Court Of Appeal

By Gideon Njoku

Imo State has lost its Acting President, Customary Court of Appeal, Hon Justice Francis Abosi, to age falsification.

The National Judicial Council, NJC, at its 91st meeting, held in Wednesday and Thursday, ordered his immediate suspension from office.

He was found guilty of falsifying the year of his birth from 1950 to 1958. The falsification of ones year of birth, an offence common in Nigeria, is taken very seriously by the Judiciary.

Announcing the decision to sack Justice Abosi, Mr Soji Oye, NJC’s Director of Communications, said in suspending him, the NJC not only asked Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma to compulsorily retire him, but to also deduct the salaries he had earned since 2015, the rightful  year of his retirement. Meaning: Justice Abosi would refund about right years in salaries earned.

Said Oye in the statement: “Findings showed that he was to have retired in 2015 when he clocked the mandatory retirement age of 65 years.

“Council decided to recommend for his compulsory retirement to Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State, and to also deduct the salaries he had earned from November 2015 to date from his retirement benefit.”

To also lose his job is Hon Justice Aliyu Musa Liman of the Bauchi High Court for misconduct.

The NJC said Liman failed to deliver judgement, for four years, in suit No BA/100/2010, between Abubakar Isa and Sheik Tahir Usman Bauchi, within the law stipulated time of three months.

The NJC, therefore, asked Governor Bala Mohammed to retire him compulsorily.

The meeting of the Council held online and  was chaired by the Chief Justice of Federation, Hon. Justice  Mohammad Tanko.