Shadrack Nwanosike, who is acting Chief Judge of the Abia State in Nigeria, was criticised by lawyers who said the case was an embarrassment to the judiciary.  According to Premium Times, the National Judicial Council (NJC) called for Mr Nwanosike’s compulsory retirement in its meeting in mid-July, but lawyers disagreed on the correct way to punish the judge.

Differing opinions

Chairman of the Ikeja branch of the Nigerian Bar Association, Onyekachi Ubani, said it was not sufficient just to dismiss him but ‘he should be prosecuted,’ and he praised  the NJC for taking action, something that ‘was not the case in the past’. Lawyer Fred Agbaje said ‘apart from just asking him to retire, the NJC should go further to prosecute him because falsification of age is a criminal offence.’ Constitutional lawyer Itse Sagay disagreed, believing that the judge’s loss of honour and integrity would suffice to punish him after being dismissed and possibly seeing his pension forfeited: ‘Let him go and savour the disgrace that he has been thrown in.’