Chief magistrate suspended over bribery, abuse of power allegations

Chief magistrate suspended over bribery, abuse of power allegations

In Nasarawa state, Chief Magistrate Vincent W. Gwahemba, has been suspended following allegations of bribery, betrayal of public trust and abuse of power against him.

His suspension was contained in a letter by the state’s Judicial Service Commission and dated January 30, 2024.

The commission compel the magistrate to respond within 24 hours to the allegations levelled against him.

According to the letter, the suspension was effective immediately and would remain in place pending the investigation into the misconduct charges.

The directive mandated Gwahemba to appear before the Judicial Commission at a later date, which will be communicated, to present his side of the story regarding the allegations.

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The charge against the chief magistrate, as outlined in complaint number S/JSC/AD/OFF/12/VOL. XV/XXX, was filed by a senior lawyer, J.S. Okutepa, SAN.

The complaint, addressed to the Chief Registrar of the state’s High Court of Justice, accuses Gwahemba of gross misconduct, bias, and delivering a ruling that led to the unlawful detention of a suspect without justification.

This suspension is reminiscent of a similar incident in 2021 when the Judicial Service Commission, JSC, in Nasarawa State took action against two senior officers over allegations of misconduct.

At that time, Abdullahi Ahmed-Sani, Chief Registrar of the High Court of Justice, and Edward Ali-Liman, Deputy Chief Registrar (Personnel), were suspended pending investigations into their conduct.

Chief magistrate suspended over bribery, abuse of power allegations