NJC suspends three judges for one year over misconduct

The National Judicial Council (NJC) has suspended three judges for one year without pay over various acts of judicial misconduct, including unlawful detention of litigants, reopening of concluded cases and imposing fines without following due process.

The council also barred two of the affected judges from elevation for three years and issued warning letters and cautions to six other judicial officers over alleged breaches of judicial conduct.

The decisions were taken at the NJC’s 112th meeting held on November 3, 2026, under the chairmanship of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun.

In a statement issued on Wednesday and obtained by our correspondent on Thursday, the council identified the suspended judges as Justice Hannatu Mohammed Kabir of the Nasarawa State High Court, Grand Kadi Mohammed Sani Salihu of the Jigawa State Sharia Court of Appeal and Justice Sobere Biambo of the Rivers State High Court.

Justice Kabir was sanctioned for ordering the detention of a litigant for 58 days over alleged disobedience of court orders without following the required contempt proceedings. The NJC said she failed to issue and serve Forms 48 and 49, as required by law, before ordering the litigant’s arrest and detention.

The council further noted that the alleged contempt occurred outside the court’s presence and could not lawfully be dealt with through summary proceedings. It added that the action violated the litigant’s right to fair hearing. She was consequently suspended for one year without pay and barred from elevation for three years.

Similarly, Grand Kadi Salihu was suspended for reopening a judgment delivered by an FCT Upper Area Court. According to the NJC, he exceeded his judicial authority by setting up a committee to review the judgment and subsequently assigning the matter to a Higher Sharia Court judge, who received fresh evidence and delivered another judgment.

The council said the process amounted to an appeal against a valid judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction, which was later set aside by the Jigawa State High Court. It held that the action violated Rule 3.3.1 of the Revised Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers, 2016.

The NJC directed the most senior Kadi of the Jigawa State Sharia Court of Appeal to perform the functions of the Grand Kadi during the suspension.

Justice Biambo was also suspended for one year without pay and barred from elevation for three years over the issuance of bench warrants and imposition of fines on litigants in a civil dispute without due process.

The council said the judge ordered the arrest of the petitioners for allegedly disobeying an interim injunction and subsequently imposed fines of N300,000 on each of them without instituting contempt proceedings or serving the mandatory Forms 48 and 49. It maintained that the alleged contempt occurred outside the court’s presence and could not be summarily tried and punished.

Meanwhile, the NJC cautioned Justice Bello Kawu of the FCT High Court over his handling of proceedings involving former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN).

The council found that Justice Kawu granted interim bail to Malami on December 23, 2025, despite being aware of an existing remand order issued by another judge of the same court, which was due to expire at midnight on December 24, 2025.

According to the NJC, the decision to grant interim bail conflicted with the subsisting remand order. It consequently directed that a warning letter be issued to the judge and that his name be placed on its Watch List.