Abang should’ve been removed, not transferred – Fayose

Many lawyers and politicians, yesterday, hailed the redeployment of Justice Okon Abang from Abuja to Asaba by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta, saying it was long over due.


While one of the lawyers wondered if Justice Abang’s redeployment to Delta State was not to hurt the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, because most of his controversial rulings had been against the PDP, Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State said Abang should have been sacked.

Justice Abang was among 10 judges of the high court that were affected by a redeployment circular the Chief Judge issued on December 21, 2016. Other judges affected by the redeployment exercise are Justice Mohammed Liman from Port Harcourt to Enugu; Justice S. Saidu (moved from Lagos to Port Harcourt); Justice A. Faji (from Asaba to Lagos); Justice R. Aikawa (Sokoto to Lagos); Justice B. Quadri (from Port Harcourt to Abuja); Justice Mallong Hoommuk (from Port Harcourt to Lafia); Justice K.K Dagat (from Lagos to Kano); Justice Saleh Idrissa (Kano to Sokoto); Justice H. Oshomah (Lafia to Port Harcourt) and Justice J. Omotosho (Kano to Port Harcourt).

The CJ stressed that their transfer was owing to “recent developments in the court.”

According to Fayose, “for a judge like Okon Abang, whose judgements were described as fraudulent and rape on democracy by Justices of the Appeal Court, what he deserved is outright sack, not transfer.

“If the appellate court could go to the extent of saying that he (Abang) embarked on a wild goose chase, spoke from both sides of his mouth and acted like Father Christmas, in saner climes, such a judge does not deserve a place in the judiciary. “To us, Justice Abang is nothing but a cancer that is capable of destroying the judiciary and by extension the entire country if he is allowed to continue as a judge. He should be shown the exit door from the judiciary.’’