Rivers Judges Begin 2014 Vacation Leave

Judges in the Rivers State
judiciary have commenced this year’s annual vacation. The vacation which commenced from August 1, 2014 will end September 11, 2014.
A statement signed by the Registrar High Court, Leonard Adoki (Esq), said the vacation was in line with the High Court rules provisions of Order 45 rule 4 (d), Rules of the High Court 2010.
The vacation is an annual rituals enjoyed by the judges in the High Courts across the country and it starts every August according to the judiciary calendar.
Many judiciary watchers in the state had expressed doubt and fear over the possibility of the judges in Rivers to partake in this year’s annual vacation following the judiciary crisis rocking the state judiciary over the appointment of a substantive chief judge in the state.
It would be recalled that state government appointed Justice P.N Agumagu as the substantive Chief Judge of the state but the National Judicial Council (NJC) through a letter, appointed Justice Daisy Okocha as administrative judge for the state.
This development led to an in definite strike embarked upon by the Judiciary Staff Workers of Nigeria Rivers State Chapter over what they described as “serving two masters”.
However, the state House of Assembly recently, rose to the occasion and amended some sectionS of the state High Court rules which empowers the Registrar to assign case file to judges as well as perform other judicial administrative functions in the absence of a chief judge.