The Supreme Court has ordered the reinstatement of the Chief Judge of Kwara State, Justice Raliat Elelu-Habeeb, who was sacked by a former Governor of the state, Dr. Bukola Saraki, in 2009.
The Supreme Court said Saraki lacked the power to sack Elelu-Habeeb.
Justice Mahmud Mohammed, who read the position of the seven-man panel, said: “It is not difficult to see that for the effective exercise of the powers of removal of a chief judge of a state by the governor and House of Assembly, the first port of call by the governor shall be the NJC.”
According to him, the council is equipped with the personnel and resources to investigate the inability of the chief judge to discharge the functions of his or her office and the subject of disciplinary action of removal through the committees of the council.
He added: “From these very clear provisions of the constitution, which are very far from being ambiguous, the governors of the states and the houses of assembly of the states can not exercise disciplinary control touching the removal of chief judges of states or other judicial officers in the states.”
Elelu-Habeeb dragged the Kwara State Government to the Federal High Court challenging the power of the state’s House of Assembly and the government to initiate disciplinary action against her.
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