Petition To NJC: Rivers Judiciary Berates PDP

The Rivers State Judiciary has berated the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Hon Felix Obuah over a purported statement alleging that the state governor, Rt Hon Chibuike Amaechi wants to use the office of the Acting Chief Judge, Hon Justice Peter Agumagu to  thwart the administration of justice in the state.
A press statement signed by the Chief Registrar, High Court of Rivers State, Leonard K Adoki yesterday in Port Harcourt and made available to The Tide, said the state judiciary would not have  reacted to such wild allegations from the PDP in the state as it would not want the judiciary in the state to be dragged into the political crisis but had to do so in other to preserve and safeguard the independence of the judiciary, especially in the state.
According to the statement, the attention of the Rivers State Judiciary was drawn to statement signed and issued by Mr Jerry Needam, Special Adviser on Media to Chief Felix Obuah, Chairman, PDP Rivers State chapter that Governor Chibuike Amaechi wants to use the office of the Acting Chief Judge, Hon Justice Peter N C. Agumagu to thwart the administration of justice in the state.
The statement further state that the PDP alleged that the plot is aimed at ensuring that all cases involving Governor Amaechi, all the state House of Assembly members loyal to him,  his political aides and other government officials as well as other state PDP related matters should be assigned to only judges that are prepared to do his (Amaechi) bidding.
Adoki averred that the allegations contained in the said publication, that there are selected judges to undo political opponents of the state governor as only a mere figment of the imagination of Mr Jerry Needam, adding  that the state judiciary was not surprised because such antics which are outright fabrications were aimed at scoring  cheap political points.
He appealed to politicians especially the  state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to desist from tarnishing the image of the respected judges in the state, stating that assignment of cases is a routine duty performed by the Chief Judge of the state.
The Registrar posited that the acting Chief Judge was not a stranger to such duties having once been a Chief Registrar and President, Customary Court of Appeal.He noted that in both capacities, he has been performing that task of assigning cases to judges and magistrates of the state judiciary.
In the performance of  these duties, the Acting Chief Judge does not take directive from any body, the governor inclusive “as a seasoned, respected and very experience judiciary officer, the Ag Chief Judge knows he is not answerable to any group of individual in the discharge of his duties”, he added.
Mr Adoki used the opportunity to call on the National Judiciary Council (NJC) not to be bothered by the said publication as it was only targeted to drag the council to a non-existence issue, while emphasising that the state judiciary does not wish to be continually distracted by these fabrications. He prayed that NJC to discountenance the said and future publications as it was only a cheap blackmail.
It further advised the general public especially Rivers people to disregard what it called the baseless allegations concocted by Jerry Needam and called on Mr Needam and his cohorts in the state chapter of PDP to discontinue the barrage of attacks aimed at  rubbishing the integrity and image of the state judiciary in the state and country at large.
He assured that the state judiciary will continue to discharge its constitutional obligations to the society without fear of favour.
Meanwhile, Rivers State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Barrister Nworgu Boms has condemned the attempt by some politicians to portray some judges in Rivers State in bad light stating that the attempt was to emasculate the judiciary by dragging it into the political crisis in the state.
Boms who addressed the press in Port Harcourt yesterday in reaction to a publication in the Nation Newspaper of Monday October 14 page 47, signed by Monwan Etete for the Obuah-led Peoples Democratic Party, described the publication as a criminal contempt and part of the group’s emerging desperate politics in the state”.
According to the publication, four judges of the state High Court, Hon Justice E Thompson, S Iruagunima, E Teetito and I. Iyayi Lamikanra, are ‘uncompromising and unapproachable” judges of the state in whose various courts are pending some politically- related cases.
It also accused the Acting Chief Judge, Hon Justice Agumagu of transferring cases pending before those four judges to those willing to compromise on the directives of Governor Amaechi, an allegation the Attorney General described as untrue.
Boms who described the allegation as ‘a measure of how morally low they have sank in the name of politics’, challenged the group to petition the National Judicial Commission by tendering the particulars of the alleged judicial malfeasance of the judges they accused of corruption, rather than engage in a campaign of calumny against them.
Boms recalled that the group had once petitioned the former Chief Judge of Rivers State against a matter in a particular court and the then Chief Judge promptly removed the matter from that court and took it to another court.
He said the group was happy at the outcome as the then Chief Judge acceded to their objection.
He also recalled that the group defied the judgement of the Federal High Court that the illegal siege at the Obio/Akpor Local Government Headquarters be removed, noting that the council headquarters is still under police siege and overgrown with grass.
The Attorney General further disclosed that the purpose of the publication was to intimidate the judiciary so that the pending Obio/Akpor matter in the state High Court will be decided by the Judge they prefer for what ever reason”.
The Attorney General also picked holes in the statement by the Chief Registrar of the state High Court in the media that both counsel in the Obio/Akpor mater petitioned against Justice Iruagunima’s handling of the matter and requested the then Chief Judge to transfer the matter for hearing by Justice Adama Iyayi Lamikaura where it is now pending.
He called on the Chief Registrar to make public the complaint of the lawyer to the governor and the Attorney General, Roland Otaru Esq (SAN), against the Chief Judge, Hon Justice Iche Ndu (rtd) “which is now touted as the basis for what is now clearly a mysterious transfer”
He added that if the Chief Registrar could provide the petition allegedly written by him against Justice Iruagunima, he would not only resign his appointment as Attorney General and commissioner for Justice but tender an apology to him.

L-R: Chief of Staff, Rivers State Government House, Mr Tony Okocha, Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mrs Ibim Semenitari and Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Mr Samuel Eyiba, at a public presentation of the book titled “Eminent Persons of Rivers State” written by Rivers State Newspaper Corporation in Port Harcourt, yesterday.