The leadership of the administration of criminal justice system in Nigeria has played down reports of favouritism in a recent appointment made.
Walter Onnoghen
Walter Onnoghen, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, has dismissed reports of bias in the recommendation of 14 Appeal Court judges for approval.
Report had it that the National Judicial Council, NJC, in its recommendation had excluded judges from the South East.
Reacting to the report, Onnoghen, in a statement by the NJC’ s Director of information, Soji Oye, described a certain list currently in circulation online as “fake news.”
Despite, what it termed fake news, the CJN confirmed an ongoing process for the appointment of new judges for the Appeal Court.
The statement reads, “The attention of the National Judicial Council has been drawn to a purported list of Judges newly appointed to the Court of Appeal being circulated in public space and tragically reported as news item by credible news outlets.
“The Council wishes to dissociate itself completely from the said list as nothing of such emanated from it. Members of the public are also advised to discountenance the said list which is nothing but a figment of the imagination of the author (s).
“In the days ahead, the council will speak more on the ongoing process for the appointment of Judges into different Cadre of the Nigerian Judiciary.”