By our Reporter
Justice John Tsoho, Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, has announced the redeployment of five judges with immediate effect.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the court disclosed that six judicial officers were impacted by the decision.
The judges include Justice M.G. Umar from the Enugu Judicial Division has now been reassigned to the Abuja division, while Justice Tijjani Garba Ringim has been transferred from Gombe to Yola.
Similarly, Justice M.T. Segun-Bello, previously serving in the Abakaliki Division, has been moved to Enugu, and Justice Bala Khalifa-Mohammed Usman has been reassigned from Yola to the Awka Division, while Justice Amina Aliyu Mohammed will take over in the Gombe Division after her redeployment from Awka.
According to the Federal High Court Director of Information, Catherine Christopher, she disclosed that the affected judges are to make every effort to deliver all pending judgements in their current stations as quickly as possible.
She added that judges based in the Abakaliki and Katsina Judicial Divisions will assume responsibility for all pending and newly instituted cases in their respective jurisdictions until further notice.
Assuring litigants and lawyers that there is no need to worry about their cases before Justice Ekwo’s court.
The statement read, “There is no need for litigants or counsel to apply to the Chief Judge for the reassignment of cases previously pending before Justice Ekwo.”
The court further confirmed that all cases previously overseen by Justice Inyang Ekwo, who was recently suspended for the duration of one year on April 30, 2025, and placed on a five-year watchlist by the National Judicial Council, will now be handled by Justice Umar.
Justice Ekwo’s suspension stemmed from allegations of delivering rulings without hearing the parties involved. According to the National Judicial Council in a statement, he violated the Revised Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers (2016) by ignoring an application to set aside proceedings conducted in the absence of the parties and subsequently dismissing the charge against the defendants.
Other judges who got suspended by the NJC includes Justice Aminu Baffa Aliyu of the Zamfara Division for one year without pay, placing him on a three-year watchlist during which he is barred from elevation.
Justice Baffa was found guilty of judicial misconduct in Suit No. FHC/GS/CS/30/2021: Government of Zamfara State vs EFCC, where he issued an order restraining security agencies from performing their statutory duties and disregarded established legal precedents.
Additionally, Justice A.O. Awogboro of the Lagos Division received a letter of caution following a petition from Kasali Azeez Olagoke and S. Hamza regarding Suit No. FHC/CS/2021: Chief Adesanya Musediku vs Assistant Inspector General of Police, Onikan, Zone 2.
Meanwhile, the NJC dismissed a petition filed by Abdullahi Liman challenging the recruitment process for appointing six Federal High Court judges in 2021.
The Council ruled that the petition, filed on January 22, 2025, violated Section 11(1) of the Judicial Discipline Regulations, which mandates that complaints be lodged within six months of the incident in question.
