Rivers rejects NJC’s action on new chief judge

The crisis of choice of next chief judge of Rivers State has rather deepened after the swearing-in of Peter Agumagu last week Thursday in Port Harcourt after a quick screening exercise by the state’s legislature and suspension of same by the Nigerian Judicial Commission (NJC) that followed a week later.

 Now, the state government has reacted, rejecting the suspension order by the NJC, saying it was unconstitutional. The NJC had equally cited constitutional grounds as reason for suspending Agumagu, saying the governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, acted ultra vires.

 Rejecting the action of the NJC in Port Harcourt on Friday, March 28, 2014, the state government, through the commissioner of information and communications, Ibim Semenaitari, said “The NJC appears not to have taken into consideration the judgment delivered by Justice of the Federal High Court, Lambo Akanbi, in which it is a party. The state government finds this position of the NJC rather curious especially as Agumagu is the most senior judge in the Rivers State judiciary and a very respected judicial officer”.

 She said the state government had gone to the courts to seek interpretation of Section 271 (3-5) of the 1999 constitution as regards the appointment of a chief judge of the state. “That section of the constitution clearly states that “A person shall not be qualified to hold office of a Judge of a High Court of a State unless he is qualified to practice as a legal practitioner in Nigeria and has been so qualified for a period of not less than ten years.”

 She went on: “The learned Justice (Akanbi) in delivering his judgment faulted the deliberate omission of Agumagu’s name amongst the list of senior judges qualified to be Chief judge of Rivers State. Agumagu is the most senior judge in the Rivers State judiciary and was seconded to establish the customary court of appeal in 2008. The Rivers State government is well aware that there is no constitutional provision compelling the Governor to appoint a chief judge based on his or her seniority or even the arm of the judiciary to which such a person belongs. What the constitution requires is a minimum of 10 years post-call qualification”.

 Semenitari contended that the immediate past Chief Judge of the State, Iche Ndu, was appointed chief judge over his senior at the bench by the Peter Odili administration. “At the time of Ndu’s appointment, the Justice, Sotonye Denton-West, was the most senior judge in the Rivers State judiciary, yet the NJC did not compel the governor at the time to announce her as Chief Judge.

The refusal of the NJC to abide by the recommendations of the Rivers State Judicial Service Commission on the appointment of the State Chief Judge and its insistence on a particular candidate is a cause of worry for the Rivers State Government”.

The state government believes that a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in the NJC from the state who is a direct relation of the NJC’s preferred candidate must be influencing the insistence of the body on a particular candidate, saying the NJC ought to remain non-partisan in the political crisis rocking Rivers State.

By Ignatius Chukwu