Pension fraud: NJC Suspends Justice Talba for One Year

By Adelanwa Bamgboye

　

Justice Abubakar Talba of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court has been suspended for 12 months without pay by the National Judicial Council (NJC) headed by Chief Justice of the Federation Justice Aloma Mukhtar.

A statement signed by NJC's Acting Director of Information, Soji Oye said Talba's suspension was sequel to findings by the council that the judge did not exercise discretion judicially and judiciously when he sentenced an Assistant Director, Police Pension Board John Yusuf.

Yusuf, who faced three criminal charges over his role in the N24 billion pension fund scam, was sentenced by Talba to two years imprisonment with an option of N250, 000 (total of N750, 000) on each of the three charges.

Talba said the convict needed a reprieve for assisting the court by confessing to getting N3 billion as his share from the N32.8 billion leading to the summary trial.

The sentence, however, attracted a backlash from Nigerian citizens and anti-corruption activists across the globe.

The NJC also "seriously warned" Justice Okechukwu Okeke after considering his response to the series of petitions alleging judicial misconduct against him.

"The NJC held emergency meeting on February 20, and set up a Fact Finding Committee to investigate the allegations levelled against Talba in the police pension case of FRN vs Esai Dangabar and five others.

"The council, however, observed that the charges brought by EFCC against Yusuf in the first charge sheet containing counts one to 10 under Section 315 of the Penal Code with jail term of 14 years and fine were dropped.

"The EFCC counsel substituted it with another charge sheet with only three counts under Section 309 of the Penal Code that moulds a lesser punishment of two years imprisonment with or without option of fine.

"The National Judicial Council, in the exercise of its disciplinary powers under the 1999 Constitution also issued serious warning to Talba to desist from unreasonable exercise of judicial discretion in all matters brought before him," the statement read.

Source Daily Trust