The National Judicial Council (NJC) has constituted four probe panels to investigate 27 High Court judges in the country over various alleged judicial misconduct brought against them.

At its 106th meeting presided over by the outgoing Chief Justice of Nigeria, KAYODE ARIWOOLA, the NJC considered the report of its Preliminary Complaints Assessment Committee on 22 petitions written against 27 Judicial Officers of the Federal and State High Courts.

Based on the report of the preliminary committee, the Council empanelled four committees to investigate allegations in the petitions that were found meritorious.

A statement by the NJC Director of Information, SOJI OYE, in Abuja, however said that the remaining 18 petitions were disapproved for lacking in merit, abandoned or prohibited from public discussion.

The NJC also placed five judges on its pre-sanction Watch List register for poor performance, disclosing that they would be recommended to the Council for appropriate sanction if they do not improve on their performance.