A Kano Federal High Court (FHC) has asked Justices Farouk Adamu and Zuwaira Yusuf to withdraw themselves from serving as chairmen of two judicial commissions in Kano State within 48 hours or lose their benefits and allowances.
Adamu heads the state’s Judicial Panel of Inquiry for the Recovery of Misappropriated Public Properties and Assets while Yusuf is in charge of the Commission of Inquiry on the Investigation of Political Violence and Missing Persons in the state.
The two judges were appointed by Governor Abba Yusuf to probe the administration of the immediate-past governor of the state and All Progressives Congress(APC) National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje.
Justice Simon Amobeda of the FHC gave the order while delivering judgment in a case filed by Ganduje, urging the court to stop Governor Yusuf from probing his administration.
Respondents to the suit are the National Judicial Council(NJC), the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation And Fiscal Commission(RMAFC), the state Attorney-General, Justice Adamu and Yusuf.
According to Justice Amobeda, if the two Kano judges failed to resign within two days, the NJC would have no choice but to halt the payments of all allowances and benefits accruable to them from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation.
He chided the judges for carrying out the functions assigned to them by the state governor in courtrooms.
The judge also frowned at Governor Yusuf’s decision to investigate Ganduje without appealing an earlier judgment by Justice A. Lyman.
Justice Liman had declared that Ganduje can only be investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and not by any other commission.
Justice Amobeda, among other declarations, said: “That, by the combined provisions of Sections 153(1)(i) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, CFRN, 1999 (as altered), Paragraph 21(d) of Part I of the Third Schedule Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as altered)and sections 1, 3 and 6 of the Commission of Inquiry Law, Cap. 26, Laws of Kano State, the governor of Kano State has no power to appoint the 4th defendant(Adamu) and 5th defendant(Yusuf) and administer another Oath of Office on them to serve as chairmen of commission of Inquiry constituted by the Governor of Kano State in an office meant for Commissioners of Kano State Government to exercise executive powers assigned to them by the Governor of Kano State and stop them from performing their functions as judges of the High Court of Kano State, without recourse to the first defendant(the NJC).”