The National Judicial Council (NJC) on Thursday said judicial officers who are being investigated for alleged high profile criminal offences will be barred from performing judicial functions until their cases are concluded.
A statement made available to newsmen in Abuja by the Acting Director of Information of the Council, Soji Oye at the end of the 79th meeting of the Council held on November 2 and 3, 2016 has said.
The NJC spokesman said that Council has also decided that Judicial Officers shall not be standing trial for alleged corruption related offences and be performing judicial functions at the same time.
He announced in the statement that the Council has set-up a Transparency and Anti-Corruption Policy Implementation Committee to put in place multifaceted strategies and guidelines that will ensure transparency and eliminate corruption in the nation’s Judiciary.
The NJC, he said has commenced the implementation of specific aspects of the National Judicial Policy which came into force in April this year and launched October 24, 2016.
Soji Oye said the National Judicial Policy seeks, amongst other measures, to provide a platform and opportunity to citizens who profess factual and credible knowledge of information on the nature and modalities of corruption in the judicial system to ventilate such.
Members of the Transparency and Anti-Corruption Policy Implementation Committee are, retired Justice E. O. Ayoola (Justice of the Supreme Court) as Chairman, Chief Judge of Borno State, Justice Kashim Zannah as member as well as the President Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Abubakar Balarabe Mahmoud (SAN), also as member of the committee.