The National Judicial Council (NJC) has ordered the compulsory retirement of 10 judges in Imo State over allegations of age falsification and misconduct.
The decision was made after the NJC’s 109th meeting held in Abuja and chaired by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun. The NJC said the affected judges changed their official birth dates to stay longer in service, which is against public service rules.
Five judges from the High Court — Justices M.E. Nwagboso, B.C. Iheka, K.A. Leaweanya, Chinyere Ngozi Okereke, and Innocent Chidi Ibeawuchi — and four from the Customary Court of Appeal — Justices Tennyson Nze, Uchenna Ofoha, Everyman Eleanya, and Rosemond Ibe — were found guilty.
Also, Justice T.N. Nzeukwu was retired for wrongly presenting himself as acting Chief Judge of Imo State despite being fourth in seniority, which goes against the constitution. The NJC has now directed Governor Hope Uzodinma to appoint the most senior judge as the acting Chief Judge.
However, the Council cleared Justice V.U. Okorie, President of the Imo Customary Court of Appeal, of any wrongdoing.
The NJC also approved the appointment of 21 new judges across various states. These include Justice Adekanye Lekan Ogunmoye as Chief Judge of Ekiti State, Kadi Abba Mammadi as Grand Kadi of Yobe State, and Mainasara Ibrahim Kogo Umar as Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
Other appointments were made for High Courts in Cross River, Ogun, Zamfara, and Katsina States, as well as for Sharia and Customary Courts in Zamfara, Plateau, and Ebonyi.
Under its new transparency policy introduced in April 2025, the NJC said it reviewed 86 public comments on the shortlisted candidates.
In a separate decision, the NJC barred Justice Isaac J. Essien of the National Industrial Court from any promotion for the next three years due to serious ethical issues. He was found guilty of issuing a confiscation order against the Nasarawa State Government while an appeal and a stay of execution were still pending.
The Council also dismissed several petitions against some judges after finding them baseless, while others were withdrawn by the petitioners. It accepted the voluntary retirement of Justices Babatunde Ademola Bakre (Ogun State High Court) and H.O. Ajayi (Kwara State High Court).
A man identified as Peter N. Ekemezie was blacklisted for repeatedly filing baseless petitions against judges.
The NJC says it will continue to enforce discipline within the judiciary to maintain public trust.
