Justice Simon Amobeda of the Federal High Court has issued a 48-hour ultimatum for Justice Faruk Adamu and Justice Zuwaira Yusuf, both judges of the Kano State High Court, to resign from their positions as chairmen of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry on Misappropriated Public Properties and Assets and the Commission on Political Violence and Missing Persons, respectively.
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The ruling came in response to a suit filed by former Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
The National Judicial Council (NJC), Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Attorney General of Kano State, and Justices Faruk Adamu and Zuwaira Yusuf were named as defendants in the case.
In his judgment on Thursday, Justice Amobeda instructed the NJC to cease payment of any remuneration, allowances, and benefits to the two judges from the consolidated revenue fund if they did not comply with the resignation order.
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Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf had inaugurated the two judicial commissions on April 4, tasking Justices Adamu and Yusuf with investigating misappropriation of public properties, political violence, and cases of missing persons from 2015 to 2023.
Justice Amobeda ruled that the judges must refrain from performing the executive functions assigned to them, as these roles are meant for adjudicating disputes in courtrooms, not for executing executive powers.
Citing the combined effects of sections 6, 84, 153(1), 271(2), 272, and paragraph 21(c) of part 1 of the third schedule to the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the judge stated that Justices Adamu and Yusuf are not legally permitted to hold the office of a judge while simultaneously serving as chairmen of commissions of inquiry with quasi-judicial powers equivalent to those of a Magistrate.
The court further held that the governor lacked the authority to appoint and administer the oath of office to the judges for these commissions, a role designated for commissioners exercising executive powers.
Additionally, Justice Amobeda referenced a decision by Justice Abdullahi Muhammad Liman, which held that only the EFCC and the ICPC are authorized to investigate the former governor.
Setting up a commission of inquiry to investigate Ganduje’s administration was deemed an abuse of office and an undermining of judicial sanctity.
However, the court disagreed with the plaintiff’s counsel’s argument that the judges ceased to be judicial officers by accepting appointments to the commissions of inquiry.
