5 S/Court workers sacked over leaked judgment

THE Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) has dismissed five workers of the Supreme Court and a staffer of the Court of Appeal, Abuja division, for their involvement in the leakage of an undelivered judgment in the case of SC 179/2012 involving Senator Alphonsus Uba Igbeke and Lady Margery Okadigbo and three others.
The affected workers were Russell Ndenu, Nathaniel Abraham, Olayinka Abiodun, Bada Kayode, Festus Ilurimi and Stephen Izonebi.
According to a statement issued by the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, Sunday Olorudahunsi, on Thursday, the six judiciary workers were found through investigation to have conspired among themselves and allegedly with two outsiders, Senator Igbeke and one Collins Okechukwu to leak out the judgement before it was delivered on May 31, 2013.
“Senator Igbeke put a paid advert on page 42 of the Daily Sun of May 30, 2013, alleging that the said judgment had leaked, which forced his counsel in the matter, Chief Wole Olanipekun, to write to the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court to dissociate himself from the publication, as well as withdrawing his service to Senator Igbeke on the matter.
“The FJSC considered their act as serious misconduct that runs contrary to Regulation 48(1)(xi) of the FJSC Regulations, Regulation 49 and Regulation 60(1) (i),” the statement read.
Meanwhile, the commission has requested the Minister of Justice and the Attorney-General of the Federation to further investigate the motive behind the leakage and possibly take legal action against Senator Igbeke and Okechukwu, for allegedly masterminding the leaked undelivered judgment of the Supreme Court.
TRIBUNE