The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Muhammad has summoned six Chief Judges in the country over the conflicting court orders emanating from their states in the last one month.
Justice Mohammad who also is the Chairman of the National Judicial Council NJC issued the summons to the Chief Judges in Abuja on Monday August 30.
The summons indicated that the affected Chief Judges are to appear before him as a prelude to the larger meeting expected to be held by the NJC to explain what warranted issuance of conflicting orders by courts of coordinate jurisdiction.
The summoned Chief Judges are those of Rivers. ,Kebbi, Cross River, Anambra, Jigawa and Imo states.
CJN was said to have bitterly complained over the huge embarrassment caused the Nigeria’s judiciary by the actions of judges who issued conflicting orders based on ex-parte applications brought by some members of People’s Democratic Party (PDP), who are against and for the position of National Chairman of the PDP Mr. Uche Secondus.
The summons read in part “My attention has been drawn to media reports to the effect that some Courts of coordinate jurisdiction were granting conflicting Ex-parte Orders on the same subject matter.
“It has become expedient for me to invite you for a detailed briefing on the development.
“This is even more compelling having regard to earlier NJC warning to judicial officers on the need to be circumspect in granting Ex-parte applications”.
Our source, who pleaded anonymity, said that the meeting between the CJN and the Heads of Court concerned is a prelude to the larger NJC meeting likely to hold next week.
The CJN who was reported to be worried and bitter on the unfortunate development, intends to use the meeting to be seized of the facts for an informed NJC deliberation.
It was gathered that Justice Muhammad, swung into action in order to stem the tide of what clearly has been an embarrassment to the Judiciary in the past couple of weeks.