Fifteen civil rights groups have urged the National Judicial Council (NJC) to begin a full-scale and impartial investigation into allegations that Chief Justice of Nigeria (CNJ), Aloysius Katsina-Alu sought to interfere with proceedings pending before an Election Appeals Tribunal.
The groups, in a joint petition, said the NJC should probe the allegation urgently, fully, impartially and fairly and ensure that the investigation is timely.
They said the process should be credible, and be undertaken by persons of the highest integrity and independence.
The groups are the Access to Justice (AJ), Lagos; African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development, Abuja; BAOBAB, for Women’s Human Rights; CLEEN Foundation, Lagos, Abuja; Centre for Social Justice (CENSOJ), Abuja; Centre for Public Opinion and Media Research, (CePoMer) Lagos; and Community Action for Popular Participation (CAPP), Abuja.
Others are Human Rights Law Service (HURILAWS); Legal Research Initiative (LRI), Abuja; Network of Police Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN), Lagos, Partners for Justice (PJ), Lagos; Prisoners Rehabilitation and Welfare Action, (PRAWA), Abuja; Socio-Economic Rights Initiative (SERI), Lagos; Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), Lagos, and Social and Economic Rights Action Center (SERAC), Lagos.
They asked the NJC to ensure that the findings of the investigation are made public, and in the event the allegations are substantiated, that sanctions are appropriately tailored to denounce the misconduct and deter its reoccurrence.
“For purposes of its impartiality, the NJC should ensure that the CJN and the President of the Court of Appeal, Isa Ayo Salami, do not take part in the deliberations on the investigation of the referenced allegations and do not preside over the Council for this purpose,” the groups said.
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15 groups demand probe of Katsina-Alu