Judiciary Press Corps Refutes Online Publication Against Rivers Chief Judge 

The Rivers State Judiciary Press Corps have dismissed an online media report by ODJ News Hub creator accusing the State Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Amadi, of bias in his rulings.

The publication alleged that the former governor of the state and now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike, had accused the State Chief Judge that the reason for which he was issuing biased rulings against him was because he allegedly dismissed his brother judge from the state judiciary.

The chairman of the group, Elder Samuel Chindah, in a  swift reaction in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, described the online media report as fake and untrue , stressing that the report was an imagination of the faceless writer as it was not the true position of what transpired.

Chinda said that Wike in the said media chat never mentioned the name of the State Chief Judge, but was referring to another judge of the State High Court and noted that the online publication was misleading and erroneous, targeted at bringing the name of the State Chief Judge to disrepute.

The statement read in part, “To put the record straight and for the general public who may be gullible to the online publication ,we wish to state that the state chief judge, Justice Simon Amadi never reinstated Hon justice  Stephen Jumbo as erroneously alleged  in the same online video media chat but to state that justice Stephen Jumbo was the former chief registrar of the state customary court of Appeal and was among the judges designates who were cleared by the National Judicial Council (NJC) to be sworn in as a judge by then former governor of the state, chief Nyesom wike but wasn’t sworn in and later dismissed from the state judiciary service along two other chief magistrates ,who served as chief Registrar High court and secretary , judicial service commission, Rivers state respectively.

“The aggrieved Chief magistrates not certified with the then state government decision, approached the national industrial court, Port Harcourt to challenge their dismissal and emerged victorious after long legal battle.

The court ordered that they should be reinstated and upon the advise of the former Attorney General of the state,prof Zacchaeus Adangor,a senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN)who then refused to proceed an appeal on court of Appeal against the judgement of the nation industrial court but brokered for an out of court settlement.

“Based on the order of the NIC and the out of court settlement brokered by the former Attorney general of the state, Prof Zacchaeus Adangor,the chief magistrates were reinstated in to the service of the state judiciary and , chief magistrate Stephen Jumbo having been cleared by the national judicial council (NJC) was later sworn _in  as a judge of the High court of Rivers state by the state governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara.”

Mr Chindah averred that the State Chief Judge at no time withdrew any appeal filed by the State Government against the judgement of the Industrial Court, and urged members of the public to disregard the online media report as it is fake and untrue.

The statement, however, advised both conventional and online media reporters to abide by the ethics of their profession and also crosscheck and confirm their information before rushing to the press.

Akujobi Amadi