CJN, Walter Onnoghen

The Federal Government has said that the National Judicial Council (NJC) is not ready to clean up the nation’s judiciary following its decision to recall some judges who had corruption charged levelled against them.

This accusation was made by the Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Prosecution, Okoi Obono-Obla while speaking to journalists on Sunday.

“It is unfortunate that the NJC is not interested in cleaning up the judiciary and we ought to clean up the judiciary. The judiciary stinks and it is important we clean it up,” Obono-Obla said.

“I don’t want to cast aspersions on NJC because it is supposed to be an eminent body of jurists presided over by the CJN, but I am very disappointed that they could come so low to misrepresent the fact that they are incontrovertible,” he added.

Obono-Obla had condemned the NJC’s  action on the grounds that there was a pending appeal against one of the recalled judges, Justice Adeniyi Ademola while the process of charging the others to court was already in motion.

But the NJC, who recalled the judges on June 4, nine months after they were arrested and released, have refuted Obono-Obla’s claim, arguing that the only appeal filed by the government was no longer valid as it has exceeded the 45 days provided by law to enter records of appeal.