Guardian PDP, lawyers, AG divided over acting CJ THURSDAY, 22 AUGUST 2013 00:00 FROM KELVIN EBIRI, PORT HARCOURTNEWS - NATIONAL RIVERS State is back in the trenches with a fresh wave of controversies following Governor Chibuike Amaechi’s appointment and swearing in of the President of the state’s Customary Court of Appeal, Justice Peter N. C. Agumagu, as Acting Chief Judge (CJ) of the state. Setting the tone for what to expect in the current battle, the state’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chapter, led by Felix Obuah, has urged the national leadership of the party to expel Amaechi over the appointment. But a legal practitioner, Ken Atsuwete, has urged the party and others to stop politicising the appointment. He claimed that Amaechi, acting on the apt advice of the Rivers’ Attorney General, Mr. Wogu Boms, did well in helping to sustain the profession’s ethical tradition of seniority and thereby complying with the provisions of Section 271(4) of the 1999 Constitution as amended. On their part, however, the League of Rivers Lawyers in Abuja said that Agumagu’s swearing-in as Acting Chief Judge instead of Justice Daisy Okocha, who the National Judicial Council (NJC) recommended for appointment, was a slap on the NJC. Chairman of the league, Mr. Timi Briggs, gave warning Wednesday in a press statement in Abuja that the judicial arm of government is independent and that its functions and processes should not be left in the hands of another arm of government for fear of abuse. According to him, this is what “Amaechi’s inordinate ambition will cause the judiciary unless he is put under check.” Meanwhile, the Rivers State Government, through its Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Worgu Bom, has exonerated Amaechi from breach of any law by the appointment, stating that it was in order because Agumagu is the most senior judge in the state’s judiciary. He argued that Amaechi followed legal procedure in filling the vacuum that existed when the immediate past Chief Judge, Justice Iche Ndu, retired. Media Adviser to the Rivers PDP, Jerry Needam, in a statement accused Amaechi of disregard of the rule of law and due process in the appointment, stating that it was “in clear violation of the express provisions of Section 271(4) of the 1999 Constitution.” “We therefore totally, completely and unequivocally condemn the appointment,” the statement read. “Section 271(4) of the 1999 Constitution does not admit of discretion. It limits the position of the acting Chief Judge of Rivers State to the most senior Judge of the High Court of Rivers State, which Justice P. N. C. Agumagu is not.” Meanwhile, the Obuah-led faction has appealed to the party’s national leadership to see the governor as a danger to democracy and the sustenance of rule of law, and therefore must be expelled from the party. But Atsuwete faulted the PDP’s stance, contending that appointments in the bar and the bench are procedural and the first point of procedure is seniority, hence the popular use of the word “Senior” in the legal profession. According to him, the implication is that a junior lawyer/judge cannot be appointed to lead or preside over a senior. He explained: “Justice P. N. C. Agumagu was called to the bar in 1975 while Justice D. Okocha was called to the bar in 1979. Clearly, Justice Agumagu is senior to Justice Okocha with over three years. “It is also factual and we beg to be contradicted that Justice Agumagu was duly appointed as a judge of the High Court of Rivers State in 1991 and he had successfully discharged the duties of a High Court Judge for well over 12 months before Justice Okocha was appointed a judge of the same High Court.” Bom agreed with this, saying: “Justice Agumagu is the oldest judge (in terms of service) now in Rivers State. There is no judge older on appointment than he is and he was appointed a High Court Judge, never a Customary Court Judge. I sit as a member of the state Judicial Service Commission, the papers there reveal that he was seconded to go and establish the Customary Court of Appeal and the law establishing the Customary Court of Appeal states clearly that the President of that court comes after the Chief Judge of the state. So whichever way you are going to look at it, he is the oldest judge now in our judiciary. Nevertheless, Briggs argued that, “the decision of the NJC is almost sacrosanct and must be respected. This is the minimum that Amaechi needs to do to show that he is democratic and has no ulterior motive.” He added if it was difficult for Amaechi to secure the ratification of the parliament, the least he could have done is to appoint Okocha, who the NJC has already recommended, pending ratification.
Posted on: Thu, 22 Aug 2013 06:57:41 +0000
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