The National Judicial Council, NJC, after an emergency meeting held in Abuja Wednesday, persuaded the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Mariam Aloma Muhktar, to rescind her earlier decision and swear-in Justice Ifeoma Jumbo-Ofo into the Appeal Court Bench.
The council which has eminent judicial egg-heads in the country, including former CJNs and ex-Presidents of the Court of Appeal and Nigerian Bar Association as members, regretted that the issue “has generated so much controversy in Nigeria, especially in the print and electronic media.”
The CJN had on November 5, declined to swear-in Justice Jombo-Ofo alongside eleven other newly appointed Justices of the Appeal Court, following a petition challenging the state of origin declared by the judge who was nominated under a slot reserved for Abia State.
Investigations by Vanguard had revealed that the CJN decided to step-down her swearing-in following agitation from some quarters that going by the prevailing judicial policy in the country; she was not qualified to represent Abia state on the appellate court bench.