Four Cross River judges suspended over drunkenness, corruption

Four Magistrates in the service of Cross River State Judiciary have been suspended from office over alleged, drunkenness, corruption, falsification of reocords and dereliction of duty.
The erring Judges Magistrates were suspended by the Cross River Judicial Service Commission, an agency saddled with the responsibility of disciplining, regulating and promoting judges in the State.

This was contained in a statement issued on Thursday by the Commission Secretary, Peter Ene, revealing that the four embattled Judges are, Ushie Ushang, Port Court, Calabar, Gabriel Ebebe, Chief Magistrate Court, Edor, and Ikom. Others are Gabriel Agana of the Chief Magistrates Court, Effraya, Ikom, and Shadrach Orji of the Chief Magistrates of Court 1, Ogoja.

After a discreet investigation, they were found to have been guilty of corruption, judicial incompetence, dereliction of duty, drunkeness and falsification of records..

The statement further revealed that two of the judges were warned, while four magistrates were suspended without pay with Chief Bailif offered a warning letter.

The embattled magistrates were directed to hand over cases to their respective Registrars for necessary attention. Meanwhile, the Magistrate in Calabar was asked to hand over all pending files to the administrative chief magistrate.

The secretary said the commission’s decision was consistent with the provisions of Section 3, Rule 03305 of the Cross River Public Service Rules, 2004.

He reiterated the commission’s commitment to maintaining the highest level of integrity and standards in judicial service delivery.

“The commission will not hesitate to apply appropriate sanctions against any erring staff, particularly those saddled with judicial responsibilities. This will help to safeguard the integrity and accountability of the judicial system and sustain public confidence”.”