The “Many Sins” Of Justice Oyebola Adepele Ojo

• Findings: 2022 Gov’ship Tribunal, Resentment From Judicial Workers Speak Against Embattled Judge

• Extension Of Year Of Service Triggered Moves Against Her – Sources

THIS is obviously not the best of times for Justice Oyebola Adepele Ojo, the Chief Judge of Osun State. 

Governor Ademola Adeleke who relied on the recommendation of the state assembly had asked Justice Ojo to step aside on Thursday, November 17. But Adeleke denied suspending the judge three days after. 

Justice Ojo who was sworn-in on June 17, 2013 as the first female Chief Judge of the state by former governor Rauf Aregbesola, might end her career in unforeseen circumstances. 

Findings by OSUN DEFENDER revealed that Justice Ojo is fighting three different battles which have been centralised by the state government. 

Judicial sources told this medium that Justice Ojo had run out of favour of the Adeleke administration in January this year, following her alleged involvement in the manipulation of the judgement of the governorship election petition tribunal which sacked Adeleke and pronounced Mr. Gboyega Oyetola as the winner of the 2022 gubernatorial election. 

According to the judicial workers, Justice Ojo was accused of allegedly playing a middle-man role between some leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the tribunal panel to get a favourable judgment for Oyetola. 

One of the sources who does not want his name in print said: “The Chief Judge crisis started in February this year after the election petition tribunal judgement. The Governor and some bigwigs in his camp claimed that the Chief Judge allegedly helped Oyetola to compromise the tribunal panel to upturn his victory. That is the genesis of the crisis.”

OSUN DEFENDER gathered that the Adeleke administration had decided not to wage war against Justice Ojo and allow her to retire peacefully. 

But the decision changed after President Bola Tinubu extended the retirement age of Nigerian judges from 65 years to 70 years. 

Originally, the Chief Judge who is 65 years, would have retired in October this year, but for the extension of years of service as signed by Tinubu in June this year. 

A cabinet member of the Adeleke administration told OSUN DEFENDER that the government was no longer comfortable with the Chief Judge’s continuous stay in the service. 

He said: “The Chief Judge allegedly played a dirty role during the tribunal process and the government decided to allow her to retire peacefully because she had little time in the service. Even after the tribunal, her loyalty was still with Oyetola; she was not loyal to the current government at all. 

“But when the president extended the retirement age of the judge to 70 years, it became an issue for some of us. How will you continue to keep a spy under you for five more years? 

“That aside, there are many allegations against her; her colleagues, judicial workers and others have petitioned relevant authorities on her alleged judicial misconduct. She has allegedly committed so many infractions unbecoming of a judge. That is the case with her.”

Besides, OSUN DEFENDER gathered that Justice Ojo had been having running battle with some of the High Court Judges and Magistrates for her alleged high-handedness. 

Succession battle and career advancement from the judges, according to sources, also contributed to the challenges facing the CJ. 

She was accused of not being fair to some Muslim Judges and Magistrates in particular. 

According to some judicial workers, the embattled CJ is allegedly responsible for the religious division in the state judiciary. 

“Before now, Muslims and Christians would go to the mosque and church together during our judiciary new year programme. But things have changed now because of the division allegedly introduced into the system by the Chief Judge. 

“Muslims and Christians went on their separate ways during the last judicial week. People were just enduring her highhandedness because of her retirement which was supposed to be in October this year. But the extension of retirement age of judges sparked the ongoing crisis for her”, said a judicial officer.

Meanwhile, an industrial action has been declared by the Judiciary workers of the state.

The workers who were protesting against Justice Ojo embarked on the strike following the firing of tear gas at them and journalists by policemen stationed at the High Court Complex, Oke-Fia, Osogbo, on Wednesday.

It would be recalled that the workers under the auspices of Judiciary Staff Union in Osun State had on Monday locked the entrance of the court and picketed the office of the Chief Judge.

However, Justice Ojo drove into the court with security personnel and went straight to her office on Wednesday, a situation that caused chaos.

OSUN DEFENDER learnt that on sighting the Chief Judge, the workers got infuriated and insisted on gaining access to the court premises.

According to the Chairman, Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, JUSUN, Osun Chapter, Gbenga Eludire, the workers decided to withdraw their service from their respective stations since Justice Ojo has declared war against them.

He said, “Following the action of the police and the attitude of the Chief Judge, I, Comrade Gbenga Eludire, hereby ordered that workers in the sector should withdraw their service till further notice.”

But the National Secretariat of JUSUN yesterday directed the Judicial workers to resume work describing the strike as political.

Also, a civil society organization, Citizens Communication and Advocacy Centre, in a petition written to the Osun State House of Assembly, claimed that the state judiciary was stinking under the leadership of Justice Ojo.

According to the group, there have been incidences of abuse of power and office by the CJ which needed to be addressed.

The group in the petition signed by its Director of External Communication, Comrade Damilola Esekpe, alleged that: “Some staffs of the Osun Judiciary were unilaterally suspended by Justice Mrs Adepele-Ojo in 2019, without carrying the State JSC along, and up till now, running to over four years, the unilateral suspension which she slammed on them to last for two months has not been lifted.

“The said staffs despite “not” being paid their allowances, their monthly pay are being received into an unauthorised special account into which the affected staffs as ordered by the Osun Chief Judge for the remit of the said allowances. This is without authorisation and notification of the state government, the employer of the affected staffs. Despite that the allowances of those staffs are regularly paid by the state government, the concerned staffs do not take home their salaries which were collected from them on the illegal directive of the Osun Chief Judge;

“The said staffs have been subjected to serious hardship, emotional distress, having faced several panels, including the ICPC which exonerated them. Yet, against known administrative principles, the Osun Chief Judge has left their fate hanging without any hope as if they are living dead.

“Another set of staffs of the Osun State Judiciary were in 2020 accused of stealing. The said staffs were arrested, investigated and prosecuted. At the end of the day, the court discharged and acquitted them. The said staffs since the beginning of their plight have been on suspension by the Osun Chief Judge. Their salaries, despite being regularly paid by the state government, do not go to them but ordered by the Osun Chief Judge to be deposited and diverted into an unauthorized account

“In the year 2022, the Osun State High Court, sitting in Ikirun gave judgment sentencing the accused in the widely reported Ikirun Bank robbery to death. A sum of N7.5m recovered as the proceeds of the robbery from the condemned convicts was ordered by the presiding judge to be forfeited to the account of the State Government. The said money, instead of being paid into the State Government account was diverted by the Osun Chief Judge.

“It is common knowledge also that the Osun Chief Judge has bred lots of dis- affection, ill-will, segregation and all sorts of bad-mannerism among judicial officers and judiciary staff as she picks fight with everyone unjustifiably.”

The group called for the suspension of the CJ pending the conclusion of investigation of the allegations against her.

The Osun State House of Assembly had said it recommended the Chief Judge’s suspension based on the allegations against her, and its resolve to fight corruption in the statement.

According to the Speaker of the assembly, Hon. Adewale Egbedun, the house does not intend to encroach the constitutional duties of the National Judicial Council, adding that, “Instead, the Osun State House of Assembly is fulfilling its constitutional duty of exposing corruption as stipulated in Sections 128 (2) (b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Listing the allegations, Egbedun, in a press statement signed by his Press Secretary, Olamide Tiamiyu, said: “Given that the Osun State House of Assembly received several petitions alleging corruption against the Chief Judge of Osun State, the Osun State House of Assembly would have been negligent and in breach of its constitutional responsibilities if it had ignored the petitions.

“For the benefit of the public, some of the allegations against the Chief Judge are: Diversion of the funds for the State Judiciary Library; Diversion of the robe allowance of a brother judge of the Osun State High Court which is about N5, 000,000: 00 (Five Million Naira); Indiscriminate suspension of Judicial staff without going through the Judicial Commission and diversion of their salaries.

“Diversion of revenue due to the government from filing electronic affidavits through the sole appointment of a consultant by the Chief Judge. In this case, the consultant makes N1000 on an affidavit as against just N250 that is being remitted to the state coffers; Disobedience of a Court judgement that discharged and acquitted a judicial staff of the allegation of embezzling N30, 000 typing sheet funds; Diversion of the proceeds that was recovered from the convicted armed robbers of the Ikirun robbery.”

Responding to the claim of the assembly, counsel to the Chief Judge, Mr Oladipo Olasope, SAN, described the corruption allegations as a figment of the assembly’s imagination.

Olasope, in a telephone interview with journalists on Wednesday, absolved Justice Adepele-Ojo of all the allegations, saying, “Who are they to be querying the CJ? Disciplining the CJ does not lie with the Osun State House of Assembly.  

“Section 292 of the Constitution is very clear. It is the NJC who can discipline a CJ, not the House of Assembly. So, all those allegations are figments of their own imagination. They have to say something to justify their position and that is what they choose to say.

“They are putting the cart before the horse. After you asked the woman to step aside, you are now bringing up charges and allegations. Why not bring the allegations first, try her, if you find her guilty, and then send it to the NJC and the NJC will now decide.”