Kogi assembly seeks removal of chief judge

The Kogi state house of assembly has recommended the removal of Nasir Ajanah, chief judge of the state, over alleged gross misconduct.

The recommendation was adopted on Tuesday after the house committee on public account presented its report on the state’s auditor-general’s 2016 financial statements.

The report presented by Ahmed Mohammed, committee chairman, indicted the Kogi state high court and Kogi Hajj Commission of financial breaches.

The state assembly asked the chief judge to step aside to defend himself over the indictment by the auditor-general report, adding that others indicted in the report will be punished.

The committee asked the state government to pay salaries of judicial officials who have been on a six-month strike.

The judicial officials had on Monday protested over an alleged move by Yahaya Bello, governor of the state, to remove the chief judge.

They alleged that the governor had instructed Matthew Kolawole, speaker of the state assembly, to effect the removal of the chief judge upon resumption from recess on Tuesday.

Emmanuel Waniko, chairman of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria in the state, said the removal of the chief judge will be resisted.

“We were last paid in June 2018 which makes it a total of nine months today that we are being owed our legitimate salaries,” Waniko said.

“We are therefore upbeat that even after almost four months that our courts are shut down because of our ongoing strike, the state assembly would make itself available to further foster another crisis on the state through this proposed illegal removal of the chief judge.”