Adamawa JSC Names 20 New Judges For High, Sharia, Customary Courts

According to Ireporter Online, the Adamawa State Judicial Service Commission has approved the appointment of 20 judges to serve across the state’s High Courts, Sharia Court of Appeal, and Customary Court of Appeal. The appointments aim to strengthen judicial capacity, reduce case backlogs, and accelerate the delivery of justice in the state.

A total of 14 judges have been assigned to the High Courts, including Aliyu Bakari, Ibrahim Ulenda Musa, Daniel John, Aminu Sa’adu, Christie Ngbale Tarfa, Abdulrazak Adamu Abdullahi, Mohammed Buba, Mohammed Hammajoda, Sadiq Giwa, Musa Mijinyawa Bala, Shehu Uthman Mustapha, Umar Isa, Yakubu Ahmadu, and Japhet Ibrahim.

Two judges, Ishaq Abdullahi Jada and Abubakar Ishaku, were appointed to the Sharia Court of Appeal, while four judges—Awamem Medan Fwa, Dimas Elshama Gwama, Deborah Umaru Peter, and David Benjamin Pembi—were assigned to the Customary Court of Appeal. The new appointments are expected to ease the workload of existing judges and enhance access to justice throughout the state’s courts.

In a separate judicial development, the Court of Appeal sitting in Ilorin, Kwara State, on Friday upheld the death sentences of five men convicted for their roles in the 2018 Offa bank robbery, dismissing their appeals as lacking merit. A court official confirmed that the appellate court rejected all grounds of appeal submitted by the convicts and ordered their immediate return to prison custody.

The convicts whose sentences were affirmed are Ayoade Akinnibosun, Azeez Salahudeen, Niyi Ogundiran, Ibikunle Ogunleye, and Adeola Abraham. They were previously convicted of armed robbery, illegal possession of firearms, and culpable homicide. Michael Adikwu, a sixth suspect and retired police officer, died in custody before the trial began.

The Offa bank robbery, which occurred in April 2018, involved coordinated attacks on five commercial banks in Offa Local Government Area of Kwara State, resulting in the deaths of at least 32 people, including nine police officers. Justice Haleemah Salman of the Kwara State High Court initially sentenced the convicts to death after a six-year trial, holding that the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt. The convicts retain the right to appeal to the Supreme Court.