The Kano State Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has compulsorily retired a Sharia Court judge and a senior court official after finding them guilty of bribery and certificate forgery.
The decision was announced by the spokesperson for the Kano State Judiciary, Baba Jibo Ibrahim, who said the disciplinary measures were approved during the commission’s 90th meeting after reviewing reports from the Judicial Public Complaints Committee on allegations of misconduct involving judges and court personnel.
According to him, Judge Aliyu Yahaya Muhammad of the Babeji Sharia Court was compulsorily retired after he was found guilty of receiving a N250,000 bribe. The commission also ordered him to refund the money. In the same case, court registrar Ibrahim Ahmad Ibrahim was suspended without pay for four months after admitting to receiving part of the bribe.
The commission also ordered the compulsory retirement of Muzambilu Ado, the Acting Director of Public Relations at the Sharia Court of Appeal, after discovering that he secured his appointment with forged academic credentials.
In another disciplinary action, Judge Usman Haruna Usman of the Goron Dutse Upper Sharia Court was demoted by one grade level for negligence that resulted in the loss of litigants’ funds. The commission also upheld his earlier one-year suspension from judicial duties.
The JSC reiterated its commitment to maintaining integrity, professionalism and ethical standards in the judiciary, warning that judicial officers and court staff found guilty of corruption, misconduct or abuse of office would continue to face appropriate disciplinary action.
