A retired Kogi State High Court judge, Justice Alaba Omolaye-Ajileye, was allegedly denied elevation to the Court of Appeal after delivering a judgment that thwarted former Governor Yahaya Bello’s attempt to remove the state’s then Chief Judge, Justice Nasir Ajanah.
The allegation is contained in an article by A.K. Musa, a lawyer, titled “The Judge Who Saved The Careers Of Two Chief Judges: A Story Of Judicial Courage, Institutional Fidelity And The Price Of Independence.”
The article recounts how Justice Omolaye-Ajileye presided over two separate cases involving attempts to remove Chief Judges of Kogi State, first in 2008 and again in 2019. 
According to the lawyer, after the judge ruled against the Bello administration in the case involving Justice Ajanah, the state government allegedly opposed his subsequent elevation to the Court of Appeal by sponsoring another candidate.
In the 2019 case, Bello had reportedly referred Justice Ajanah’s conduct to the Kogi State House of Assembly following a dispute over the state government’s request for judicial staff payroll records.
The controversy began on November 14, 2018, when the Secretary to the State Government requested the payroll records for a verification exercise.
The Chief Registrar of the judiciary, Yahya Adamu, reportedly responded that the judiciary was an independent arm of government with responsibility for managing its affairs through the Judicial Service Commission.
The dispute escalated after Bello petitioned the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, seeking disciplinary action against Ajanah and asking that he step aside from certain judicial responsibilities.
The governor subsequently referred the matter to the House of Assembly, which, on April 2, 2019, passed a resolution requesting Ajanah’s removal and seeking disciplinary action against the Chief Registrar.
Ajanah challenged the action in court, and Justice Omolaye-Ajileye, in a judgment delivered on June 18, 2019, declared the governor and the Assembly’s actions unlawful.
The lawyer describes the ruling as a significant defence of judicial independence against what he portrays as an attempt by the executive and legislature to interfere with the judiciary.
He also recounts that Justice Omolaye-Ajileye faced death threats during the proceedings and that suspected political thugs invaded the courtroom.
The article cites legal scholar and former National Human Rights Commission chairman, Professor Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, who had written about the confrontation between the Bello administration and the judiciary in Kogi State.
Odinkalu reportedly described Justice Omolaye-Ajileye as “a man of courage and learning whose judicial record was unblemished.”
According to the article, Odinkalu also reported that the Bello administration subsequently made it known that it could no longer guarantee the judge’s safety.
It further attributes to Odinkalu the account that the Kogi Government indirectly opposed the judge’s elevation to the Court of Appeal by sponsoring another candidate.
The article says Justice Ajanah also faced consequences following the confrontation with the state government.
It alleges that he was excluded from official state functions after the judgment. On May 21, 2020, during the swearing-in of a new Grand Khadi, the governor’s Chief Security Officer reportedly told Ajanah that the governor had directed that he should not attend the ceremony.
Odinkalu also reportedly said Ajanah relocated to Abuja, contracted COVID-19 and died in isolation in Gwagwalada on June 28, 2020.
Justice Omolaye-Ajileye’s judicial record also includes an earlier ruling in 2008 involving the attempted removal of another Kogi State Chief Judge, Justice Umaru Eri.
In April 2008, the Kogi State House of Assembly passed a resolution calling for Eri’s removal. The then Acting Governor, Clarence Olafemi, subsequently announced his removal and designated Justice Sam Ota to act as Chief Judge, but Ota reportedly declined the appointment.
Eri maintained that his difficulties arose after he refused to act as an intermediary in an alleged attempt to bribe an election petition tribunal.
Justice Omolaye-Ajileye, in a judgment delivered on May 16, 2008, set aside the purported removal and reinstated Eri.
The lawyer also highlights a 2006 judgment in which the judge reversed the deposition of Tijani Audu, the traditional ruler of Ogbonicha and brother of former Kogi Governor Abubakar Audu.
In that case, Justice Omolaye-Ajileye set aside the action taken by the administration of former Governor Ibrahim Idris, holding that political vendetta could not be ruled out.
Justice Omolaye-Ajileye retired from the Kogi State judiciary in February 2023. He is also a legal scholar and author who has specialised in digital evidence and written on the subject, including in his publication ‘Electronic Evidence’.
