Says, any misconduct allegation must first be referred to National Judicial Council

The Coalition Alliance for Justice and Rule of Law (CAJROL) has condemned in strong terms the ongoing media trial and prejudicial online publication against the Honourable Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Hon. Justice Tsoho, alleging breaches of the Code of Conduct.

In a statement made available by it’s
Executive Director, CAJROL Dr. John Alushaji and made available to journalists on Thursday, the Coalition maintained that as a serving judicial officer, any misconduct allegation must first be referred to the National Judicial Council (NJC).

According to the Coalition, the NJC IS the sole constitutionally empowered body under Paragraph 21(b), Part I of the Third Schedule to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

The Supreme Court affirmed this in FRN v. Nganjima (2022) LPELTR-58066(SC), ruling that no judicial officer can be subjected to any form of investigation and or prosecution without first having recourse to the disciplinary powers vested on the National Judicial Council.

Prominent Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) have warned that such media trials erode judicial independence and public trust. CORAL views the unauthorized publication of purported Code of Conduct Bureau findings as an attempt at blackmail and perversion of justice, violating Section 36’s fair hearing guarantee.

CAJROL urges the Federal Government of Nigeria not to allow a repeat of the incident involving the former Chief Justice of Nigeria; Hon. Justice Walter Onnoghen which later resulted in an out-of-court settlement.  

“This reckless media trial and conviction bypasses due process and threatens Nigeria’s democracy. No one is above the law, but the rule of law demands NJC primacy—full stop. We demand immediate retraction of the prejudicial publication, an end to distractions from blackmailers, investigation of its source, and prevention of repeats like the Onnoghen case”, Dr. Alushaji stated.