The question of who will swear in Rivers State governor-elect, Chief Ezebunwo Nyesom Wike, and his deputy, Mrs Ipalibo Harry-Banigo, on May 29, 2015, has been on the lips of every concerned resident of the state. ANAYO ONUKWUGHA writes on the development. As at today, the Rivers State Judiciary is not functioning as there has been no new Chief Judge or Acting Chief Judge for the state since August 2013 when the last Chief Judge of the state, Justice Iche Ndu retired.....
According to Chief Onueze Joe Okocha, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and former President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria empowers only the Chief Judge of a State, the President of a Customary Court of Appeal and a Grand Khadi of a Sharia Court of Appeal to administer oath of office on a governor-elect before he can legally perform the functions of a governor.
Also, State High Courts, Magistrate Courts and the Customary Court of Appeal have been under lock and key for over nine months in the state following threats to lives of judicial workers, as a result of bombing of High Court complexes at Ahoada, Degema, Port Harcourt and Okehi simultaneously.
Since the exit of Ndu, the former Chief Judge in 2013, there has been a face-off between Governor Rotimi Amaechi, and the National Judicial Council over who should be appointed the substantive Chief Judge of the state. While the governor prefers former President of the Customary Court of Appeal, Justice Peter Nwoke Chukwuma Agumagu, the NJC insisted that Justice Daisy Wotube Okocha should be appointed the Chief Judge of the state.
The crisis in the state Judiciary could be traced to August 20, 2013 when Amaechi, in pursuant to Sec 271 (4) of the Constitution which states that the Most Senior Judge of the High Court be so sworn-in, appointed and swore in Agumagu as the Acting Chief Judge of the state.
On its part, the NJC forwarded the name of Okocha to the National Assembly, which was overseeing the functions of the Rivers State House of Assembly then, for screening and confirmation as the substantive Chief Judge of the state.
The development, perhaps forced the state government to approach the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, for an interpretation of section 271 (3-5) of the constitution as regards the appointment of Chief Judge of the state.
Delivering judgment on the matter on March 18, 2014, the Presiding Judge, Justice Lambo Akanbi, declared that the NJC erred in its recommendation that Okocha is the most qualified judge for appointment as Chief Judge of the state.
Akanbi stated that the argument by the NJC that Okocha was the oldest judge of the Rivers State High Court and more qualified to be chief judge of the state because the Chairman of the state Customary Court of Appeal, Agumagu, was of a different arm of the judiciary was wrong.
Shortly after the judgment, the Rivers State House of Assembly sitting at Old Executive Council Chambers of Government House, screened and confirmed Agumagu, as the Chief Judge of the state and he was immediately sworn-in by Amaechi, Thereafter, the NJC, headed by the then Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mariam Aloma Muktar, suspended Agumagu from performing judicial functions for accepting to be sworn-in as Chief Judge, thereby disobeying the decision of the Council. However, Agumagu is challenging his suspension before the Federal High Court.
The Rivers State government, through Wogu Boms, it’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, rejected the suspension of the newly appointed Chief Judge, describing the suspension as illegal and unconstitutional.
Boms said, “The position of NJC which is very unfortunate, gives equally unfortunate and misleading impression to the public that the appointment of the Hon Justice PNC Agumagu as Chief Judge of Rivers State, occurred in nibubus (i.e. from the skies) and with no contribution of the NJC to it or that there is no history behind it.
“The Hon Justice PNC Agumagu, the NJC wants the world to believe, just woke up, walked to the State House and got appointed and sworn-in as the Chief Judge. This impression is misleading, self-serving and diversionary.
“It is important to state from the outset that the NJC has always preferred the doctrine of the Most Senior Judge of the High Court, in the appointment of the Chief Judge of Rivers State and in particular, the Hon Justice D.W. Okocha, as its candidate for the position.
“In its single-minded pursuit of the actualization of this doctrine and preference, it enunciated further the doctrine that only a Judge of the State High Court is qualified for consideration for the office and that the Hon Justice Agumagu, then, President of the State’s Customary Court of Appeal, could not be allowed to cross over to become the State Chief Judge.”
On June 4, 2014, the NJC announced the appointment of Okocha as the Administrative Judge of the state, saying its decision to appoint her into the position was based on the fact that she is the most senior judge in the Rivers State Judiciary, adding that the absence of a chief judge in the state had brought untold hardship to litigants.
According to NJC’s Director of Information, Mr. Soji Oye, the council during its May 27, 2014 meeting, deliberated on the current state of affairs in the Rivers State judiciary and noted with concern the non-appointment of a substantive Chief Judge or acting Chief Judge for the state and its attendant consequences on the general administration of justice, particularly vis-à-vis assignment of cases and other related administrative duties in both the high court and the Customary Court of Appeal of state.
The council said, “Consequently, in the exercise of its constitutional powers, council decided as follows: (i) That the most senior judge in the High Court of Justice of Rivers State Judiciary should perform the functions of assigning cases to all the judges of the court and also carry out other related administrative duties. (ii) That the most senior Judge in the Customary Court of Appeal of Rivers State Judiciary should perform the functions of assigning cases and also carry out other related administrative duties.”
But the state government, through its commissioner for Information and Communications, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, rejected the appointment of Okocha, claiming that it violated the constitution and the judgment of a Federal High Court delivered by Akanbi.
Semenitari had in a statement issued in Port Harcourt, called on the public to hold the NJC responsible for any breakdown of law and order which its “planned-intermeddling with the administration of justice in Rivers State shall inexorably occasion.”
The statement said, “This is clearly against the judgment of the Federal High Court which voided NJC’s recommendation of this same Judge. The NJC, to disguise its disrespect for the Law and give the impression that it is acting within the Law, has planned to christen the said Justice Daisy Wotube Okocha as an ‘Administrative Judge’ with powers to perform the functions of the Chief Judge especially the assignment of cases.
“The Rivers State Government wonders what special interest the Chief Justice in person, and the NJC, in general, have in Rivers State and its Judiciary as to contemplate such obviously unconstitutional and illegal act against the state judiciary which act is also contemptuous of a Federal High Court’s Judgment which has voided NJC’s recommendation of Justice Daisy Wotube Okocha for appointment as Chief Judge of Rivers State.”
Only on Monday, April 20, 2015, the Federal High Court presided over by Justice Lambo Akanbi adjourned hearing on a fresh suit FHC/PHC/CS/03/2015 with the NJC, the Rivers State Judicial Service Commission and the Governor of Rivers State as first, second and third defendants as well as two others.
She insisted that a properly constituted State Judicial Service Commission must have the Chief Judge of the state or acting Chief Judge of the state as Chairman. She further pleaded with the Court to declare that the Attorney General of the state, who is the 5th defendant and Chief Registrar of the Rivers State High Court, the 6th defendant, have no constitutional powers to assume the duties and office of the Chairman of the State Judicial Service Commission.
Okocha also asked the Court to declare that in the absence of a Chief Judge, the governor was duty bound to declare that she, being the most senior judge of the Rivers State High Court should perform the functions of a Chief Judge in acting capacity.
With the adjournment of the suit to June 29, 2015, a whole one month after the scheduled May 29 swearing-in date, it is obvious that there may be no Chief Judge, Acting Chief Judge, or President of the Customary Court of Appeal to swear-in the governor-elect and his deputy on that fateful day.
To the former NBA President, Okocha, who is also a one-time Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice of Rivers State, the state may be in for a constitutional crisis on May 29, if Amaechi does not appoint an acting Chief Judge.
He said, “Any of these three can administer the oath. For us, it is usual that it is the Chief Judge of Rivers State. We don’t have a Chief Judge, neither do we have an acting Chief Judge. We also do not have a President of the Customary Court of Appeal.
“If these things remain as they are now, there may be constitutional crisis. Right now that office is vacant so is the office of President of the Customary Court of Appeal of Rivers State and we are facing this looming, as you say, constitutional crisis.
“Well, I hope and believe that reason will prevail and the governor will see it fit to do what is needful to ensure he appoints the appropriate person as stipulated in the constitution as acting Chief Judge so that at least, we can have our new governor sworn-in by the acting Chief Judge so appointed.”
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