Court sacks chairman of Katsina judicial panel of inquiry
The Court of Appeal sitting in Kaduna has granted the prayers of former governor of Katsina State, Ibrahim Shema, that the chairman of the Katsina State Judicial Commission of Inquiry, Justice Muhammad Suraj be removed die to the circumstances surrounding his appointment.
Shema had sued the Kastina State government for setting up a judicial commission of inquiry to probe his administration on grounds that the commission would not be fair to him and had sought among other things that the chairman of the commission be removed.
Katsina State governor, Aminu Bello Masari had constituted an 11-man Judicial Commission of Inquiry to investigate alleged missing N70 billion during Shema’s administration.
The former governor had sued the state government on grounds that the setting of the commission is an infringement of his fundamental human right to fair hearing and that they state government being the accuser and prosecutor in the case has by constituting the commission also assumed the position of a judge in its own case.
Having failed to get the relieves sought, Shema filed an appeal against the judgment of the lower court on grounds that the Katsina state government is a judge of its own cases in setting up a judicial commission of enquiry and making criminal allegations.
Justice Adefope Okojie, who read the judgment on behalf of her colleagues, Ibrahim Shatta and Amina Augie, said the circumstance surrounding the appointment of Suraj to head the panel will not give an average person the satisfaction that he would be fair to Shema.
The court held that given that the governor of Katsina State, Aminu Bello Masari had specifically requested for Justice Muhammad Suraj to chair the panel, there is likelihood that he may be biased and ordered that he should be excused from the commission.
The court however upheld the judgement of the lower court which held that the state government has the powers to set up a judicial commission to investigate activities of past officials.