Seven Supreme Court Justices Remain Under US Travel Ban, Retiring Jurist Reveals

Justice Uwani Musa Abba Aji, who’s retiring from the Supreme Court, mentioned on Friday that the US journey restrictions imposed on a seven-member panel of the apex courtroom remained energetic.

She attributed the ban to what she described because the misinterpretation of a judgment delivered by the panel. She, nonetheless, didn’t point out the actual contentious case.

Speaking at a valedictory courtroom session held in her honour in Abuja on Friday, Abba Aji described such inconveniences as a worth judicial officers generally paid to protect the integrity of justice.

She will formally retire from the Supreme Court as we speak upon attaining the obligatory retirement age of 70.

Recalling her expertise on the bench, she mentioned: “My time on the Supreme Court Bench was crammed with challenges, a few of which have served as further alternatives to face agency on the aspect of justice, whatever the penalties.

“One of such challenging judgments was widely misinterpreted and led to a travel ban to the United States of America being imposed on all the members of the panel, a ban which still stands till today.”

Abba Aji additionally recalled that whereas attending a programme in Washington, DC, in 2016, she obtained a name informing her that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) wished her to answer a petition filed towards her in Lagos.

She mentioned the petition led to repeated visits to the EFCC’s workplace, the place she answered questions on corruption allegations she knew nothing about. According to her, she was finally cleared of all of the allegations.

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Despite her exoneration, she described the interval as troublesome, saying allegations circulated publicly whereas the conservative nature of the judiciary prevented her from responding in public.

Although she didn’t establish the judgment that allegedly prompted the US journey ban, she mentioned: “Such inconveniences were a price to pay to preserve the chastity of justice.”

The retiring justice urged youthful judges to uphold integrity and let justice be their compass.

She suggested serving judges to discharge their duties with humility and braveness, remembering that the legislation was not merely a career however a belief.

Earlier, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, who presided over the session, congratulated Abba Aji on her diligent service and what she described as an unblemished file.

The CJN mentioned Abba Aji’s profession was important to the nation and to girls who had adopted her instance on the bench.

Also talking, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, counseled Abba Aji for her contribution to a judgment regarding the authorized foundations of the EFCC, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), which he mentioned had helped the federal government fight corruption.

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