By Adesina Soyooye
Angered by the summons extended by the Code of Conduct Bureau to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, the Honourable Justice John Tsoho, the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, has warned the CCB to immediately withdraw it.
The CCB had summoned Tsoho to appear before it over alleged non-declaration of certain bank accounts.
Condemning the summons, however, the NBA ruled the CCB out of order, and insisted that the Bureau had no powers to summon Tsoho.
In a letter dated March 2, 2026, which was addressed to the Chairman of the CCB, the NBA pointed out that according to the Constitution only the National Judicial Council (NJC) has the exclusive powers to investigate and discipline serving judicial officers. The NBA, therefore, described the CCB’s summons as a breach of constitutional provisions which safeguards judicial independence.
Media reports stated that Justice Tsoho has been invited to appear before the Bureau to answer to allegations that he failed to declare some bank accounts in his asset declaration form, and so, is in breach of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers.
The bank accounts Justice Tsoho, allegedly, failed to declare are domiciled with United Bank for Africa, namely 3000087154, 3000201901, and 3000075689. There is, also, account number 1756816871, domiciled with Access Bank.
But the NBA described the development as constitutionally worrisome and argued that “any investigative or disciplinary process initiated against a serving Judge without prior recourse to the NJC would violate the doctrine of separation of powers enshrined in the 1999 Constitution.”
The NBA cited the Supreme Court’s decision in FRN v. Nganjiwa, and stated that the apex court had clearly held that the NJC must “first exercise disciplinary control over a serving judicial officer before any criminal or quasi-criminal proceedings can be commenced.”
It further held that the summons issued to the FHC Chief Judge could not be regarded as a “benign administrative interaction,” as it “marked the commencement of a process capable of culminating in sanctions and, therefore, triggered constitutional safeguards designed to protect judicial independence.
“The involvement of the National Judicial Council is a constitutional condition precedent to any investigative or adjudicatory process against a serving judicial officer,” the letter noted.
The NBA warned that allowing the CCB or the Code of Conduct Tribunal to “independently summon or try a serving Chief Judge would amount to an unconstitutional encroachment into the judicial sphere and could render such proceedings null and void.”
Therefore, the NBA urged the CCB to withdraw the summons issued to Justice Tsoho and forward any of its findings “to the NJC for appropriate investigation and action.”
Recall that the forced resignation of a former Chief Justice of Nigeria, the Honourable Justice Walter Onnoghen began with his being dragged before the Code of Conduct Tribunal over some alleged undeclared assets. He was found guilty, a ruling that has since been thrown into the dustbin.
