NJC And Rivers Judiciary Crisis

The crisis in the Rivers
State Judiciary appears to have reached a crescendo with the  recent “appointment” of Hon. Justice D. W.  Okocha as the defacto even if not the de jure Chief Judge of Rivers State by the National Judicial Council (N.J.C.). A few days ago the N.J.C. announced the name of the learned judge as the Administrative Judge of Rivers State pending  the resolution of all the legal issues surrounding the appointment of a substantive Chief  Judge of Rivers State.
Without doing an extensive review of the crux  of the matter, one can briefly highlight that the bone of contention is that the N.J.e. rejected the choice of the Rivers State Government in the  person ofHon. Justice Peter Nwoke Agumagu as the Chief  Judge of  Rivers State. Or put in another  way, the Governor of Rivers State Rotimi  Chibuike Amaechi rejected the choice of   N.J.C.  Hon. Justice Daisy Okocha as the Chief Justice of  Rivers State. Hon. Justice Daisy Okocha was the  choice of the N.J.C. The N.J.C. relied on what it  termed as non-compliance of the Rivers State  Government with section 271 of the 1999 Con- stitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The  Rivers State Government countered the position  of the N.J.C. by insisting the N.J.e. has no powers to declare the action of the Governor as unconstitutional. It said that only a duly  constituted court of law could declare the Governor’s action as unconstitutional or illegal. In other words, the N.J.C. could not arrogate to itself the powers of a court of law.
The Rivers State Government further argued  that the N.J.C. only usurped judicial powers by  its action. In Suit No. FHCjPH/CS/421/2013, Governor of Rivers State & 2 Ors v. The National Judicial Commission (N.J.C.) & Hon. Justice Daisy Okocha, the Rivers State government contested  the decision of the N.J.C. In a judgment delivered on Wednesday 19th March, 2014 the Federal  High Court sitting in Port Harcourt held among  other things that the Governor of Rivers State  was right in appointing Hon. Agumagu’ as the  Chief Judge of Rivers State. It also held that the  N.J.C. had no right to insist that the Governor  must accept the candidate Hon. Justice Okocha  that was recommended to him by the N.J.C. The  court forcefully declared that, “The Governor is  not made a rubber stamp or robot to willy-nilly  accept the N.J.C. recommendation.”
While some other stakeholders on the other divide in the drama seemed to hail the pronouncement of NJC, it is apposite to refresh our  mind on the position of the Rivers State Government.  Speaking through its Commissioner for Information and Communications, Ibim Semenitari, the government warned of the impending scenario when Justice Agumagu was first suspended. To refresh our mind it is apposite to recall the press statement of the journalist turned commissioner.
The attention of the Rivers State Government  has been drawn to a statement by the  spokesperson of the National Judicial Council  purporting to suspend the Rivers State Chief  Judge, Justice P.N.C Agumagu by the National Judicial Council (NJC).
If this is true, then clearly, the NJC appears  not to have taken into consideration the  judgment delivered by Justice Lambo  Akanbi of the Federal High court, Port Harcourt in which it is a party.
The state government finds this position of the NJC rather curious especially as Justice  Agumagu is the most senior judge in the Rivers State judiciary and a very respected  judicial officer.     .
The Rivers state government had gone to  the courts to seek interpretation of Section  271 (3-5) of the Constitution of the Federal  Republic of Nigeria 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.”
However to enable it act within the confines of the law the Rivers State Government  sought the court’s interpretation. The learned Justice Akanbi in delivering his  judgment faulted the deliberate omission  of Justice Agumagu’s name amongst the list of senior judges qualified to be Chief judge  of Rivers State.
Justice P.N.C 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. This is evidenced even by the appointment of the immediate past Chief  Judge of the State, Justice Iche Ndu, who was  appointed chief judge over his senior at the  bench. At the time of justice 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.
Such insistence may appear to mark the  NJC out as clearly partisan, self-interested  and self-serving, in a case in which it is a  party. The NJC has shown such over-weaning  personal interest In this matter; thereby  raising serious and fundamental questions  as to how justifiable is it for NJC to interpose itself in a case in which it clearly has more  than a passing interest. It is a well-known  principle of administrative law that a party cannot be a judge in its own cause.
When Honorable Justice Akanbi of the Federal high Court struck down the decision of  the NJC to preclude Justice Agumagu from  consideration for the position of the Chief  Judge, the Rivers State Government fully expected the NJC, as a law-abiding institution,  to choose the path of civility and appeal if it  was dissatisfied with the decision. Rather  than do so, the NJC has chosen the path of  unconstitutional bullying, lawlessness and  injudicious racketeering. It is a dark day for  our country when the most senior Justices  and lawyers in our country resort to high handed self help instead of judicial redress.
The Rivers State Government finds that the decision of the NJC to suspend Justice Agumagu despite a decision of the Federal High Court on the issue of who should be Chief  Judge of Rivers State suggests a highhandedness and intolerance that is unacceptable  for a body charged with the responsibility of  protecting the integrity of the judiciary.
The attitude of the body has laid credence  to the fears of the Rivers State Government  that the body has been influenced by one of  its members who has filial ties with the NJCs  preferred candidate. The impression is that  the NJC is using its old boys and influence  networks and could not be bothered about  the propriety or constitutionality of usurping the role of the Governor of Rivers State in  the appointment of a chief judge for the state or respecting the niceties of separation of powers. The NJC seeks to unleash an assault on the fundamental value of separation of powers in  our constitutional system.
The Rivers State Government should respectfully remind the NJC that it is a statutory body,  not a Court. Accordingly, the NJC should not allow itself to become a tool in the hands of advocates of nepotism and sectional interest. The Rivers state government should urge the NJC to respect the ruling of the Federal High court and  indeed the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which it has a responsibility to uphold in the interest of justice, fair play and fair  mindedness. By the way it has acted, the NJC seeks to put itself above the law. The NJC is not  above the law. The path of legality for the NJC is to seek redress in the courts.
Without going-further into whether it is the  Governor that is right or whether it is the N.J.C  that is wrong, the concern of many informed jurists and indeed members of the public is that  the NJC in particular should follow due process in the matter in question. First the N.J.C appeared to be hasty in suspending Hon. Justice  Agumagu without giving him a fair hearing.  Secondly the matter was subjudice as an appeal was pending before N.J.C took further action.  N.J.C is yet to vacate the judgment of the Federal High Court Port Harcourt in favour of the  Rivers State Governor and Hon. Justice Agumagu before it went ahead to appoint Hon.  Okocha as the Administrative Judge of Rivers  State. Caution should have suggested that until  all the issues are resolved both Agumagu and  Okocha ought to have been kept in the back-  ground and not giving one some sort of ascendancy above the other.
To some extent, some worried commentators’  only grouse with NJC is that it appears to be introducing some dose of politics in its affairs, no matter how little. Equally they believe that being a body of great distinction, it ought to act with judicial restraint no matter the provocation. According to Professor Chidi Odinkalu,  “This comedy of errors playing out so clumsily  before a public that once held the judiciary in  spiritual awe is grinding the last remaining  fragments of reputation and authority into the  dust”. For him, “the process for selection and  appointment of judicial officers has demonstrably collapsed and it is a tragedy for our governance and democracy” Another commentator, Bamidele Aturu appears to be so  outraged that he is of the view that, “it is time  to put on the agenda, a reform of that body  (N.J.C.) by legislative means”.
In conclusion, there is no doubt that political  factors are indeed giving coloration to the  drama playing out in Rivers State Judiciary. This  is unacceptable. While the politicians in Rivers  State may be pardoned by the public for being  political gladiators, the same perhaps cannot be  said of the N.J.C, which ought to be purely a judicial body expected therefore to act with temperance.
Njoku is a Legal Practitioner

Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi

Aham Njoku