The National Judicial Council (NJC) has dismissed a letter purportedly emanating from it, surrendering its statutory powers and functions on Judges’ appointments and promotions to State Governors.
Mr. Soji Oye, NJC’s Director of Information, who disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, said that there was no iota of truth whatsoever in the fake letter.
The NJC said that the letter addressed to the Chief Judge of Kebbi State and purportedly signed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, did not emanate from the Council or the CJN, who is the Chairman of the Council.
The NJC’s letter in part read: "The attention of the National Judicial Council has been drawn to a fake letter dated July 14, 2023, purported to have emanated from the Council and signed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman, National Judicial Council, Hon. Justice Olukayode Ariwoola.
"The fake letter titled "Order of Seniority of Judges of the High Court of Kebbi State and recommendation of Justice Umar Abubakar as the substantive Chief Judge of Kebbi State" addressed to the Chief Judge states "that under Section 10 of the existing law of Kebbi State 1996, His Excellency, the Governor, has the power to determine Seniority of Judges and the National Judicial Council has no power to override or reverse the decision of His Excellency".
"It further stated that "the office of the Head of Court or Chief Judge is purely a political appointment to be decided by the Governor of a state".
"For the purpose of clarification and avoidance of doubt, the National Judicial Council hereby emphatically disclaims the letter.
‘The public is hereby advised to discountenance the letter and its content.
"Meanwhile, the Council has reported the unfortunate case to the relevant security agencies with a view to investigating and bringing to book whoever is behind this dastardly act", it said.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) is training stakeholders on reporting fair recruitment and forced labour as part of efforts to ensure effective migration governance in Nigeria.
The ILO National Coordinator, Fairway Global Project in Nigeria, Mr. Austin Erameh, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos that the training was to ensure that migrant workers in Nigeria and abroad are protected.
Erameh said that the ILO was supporting the training sessions, which targeted trade unions, Civil Society organisations (CSOs), the media, and academia.
"This component of work leverages the adaptation of the media toolkit for reporting fair recruitment and forced labour, which has been contextualised for Nigeria.
"ILO is building on the successes from that adaptation process to provide support to the stakeholders in applying these resources and tools.
"These training sessions build on further successes, including the development of the information guide for trade unions.
"The guide was developed with the support of the programme, as well as the migrant recruitment advisor that was developed by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) with support from the International Trade Union Confederation Africa.
"All of these practical tools and resources contribute to the effective governance and management of labour migration in Nigeria, and the ILO, through the framework of the programme, is contributing to sustainability in this area," Erameh said.
Also, a guest speaker, Mr. Emeka Obieze, also a Migration Policy and Governance Expert, said that migrant workers were identified as one of the most vulnerable groups in the field of work.
Obieze quoted the ILO as saying that 44 percent of migrant workers across the world are marginalised or exploited in one way or another.
He noted that the ILO and NLC had put together resourced products to ensure fair recruitment in the country, such as the information guide for returning migrants and migrant workers and the migrant recruitment advisory.
"So, in order to mitigate exploitation and reduce migrants’ tendencies towards vulnerability, such tools are put in place.
"It is to ensure that beginning from recruitment to the time of their return from migration, their rights are protected through the provision of a conducive environment as well as fair remuneration for their jobs.
"As stakeholders like trade unions, media, and CSOs, we work directly at the grassroots with migrants, and so we ensure through our engagement with them that they have access to these rights.
"Also, they have access to the translation of these legal instruments into practical points of engagement that enable them to seek directly for themselves the protection and assistance of stakeholders," Obieze said.
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