BEVERLY HILLS, March 23, (THEWILL) – The Federal High Court in Lagos has dismissed the charges instituted by the Federal Government against a serving Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Sylvester Ngwuta.
THEWILL recalls that Justice Ngwuta was among the judicial officers whose houses were raided by the operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) in October 2016.
He was subsequently charged with various corruption offences by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF).
In his ruling on Friday, the trial judge, Justice John Tsoho, dismissed the charges relying on an earlier judgment of the Court of Appeal which held that the pre-conditions for instituting charges against a judicial officer were not met before charging Justice Ngwuta.
THEWILL recalls that the judgment of the of the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal, delivered on December 12, 2017, which Justice Tsoho relied on, had dismissed the corruption charges instituted against a serving judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Hyeldzira Nganjiwa.
The court had dismissed the charges instituted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against Nganjiwa on the basis that a serving judge could not be investigated or prosecuted without being first disciplined by the National Judicial Council (NJC).
Justice Ngwuta, through his counsel, Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), submitted that by virtue of the said Court of Appeal’s judgment in Nganjiwa’s case and the provisions of section 158(1), Paragraph 21(8) of the Third Schedule to the Constitution, the charges instituted against him were also incompetent.
He maintained that going by the judgment of the Court of Appeal, the complaints forming the basis of the charges instituted against him ought to have been referred to the NJC for disciplinary measures before instituting the charges.
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