• NJC, NBA fault chief law officer’s ‘sack’
The Benue State House of Assembly, yesterday, suspended 13 members for what the Speaker, Aondona Dajoh, described as “Dishonourable actions capable of casting aspersions and causing acrimony in the House.”
In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Terver Zamber in Makurdi, the Speaker added that the Assembly also ordered the 13 lawmakers “to refund the money paid to them for a foreign trip to government coffers, since they will not be embarking on the journey any longer.”
Earlier, in a motion on the floor of the legislative chamber, the Majority Leader, Saater Tiseer, recalled that they had, in their last sitting, received a complaint from the Attorney-General detailing allegations of gross misconduct, abuse of office, bribery and corruption, and other sundry ones against the Chief Judge, Justice Maurice Ikpambwese, adding that after exhaustive deliberation, 23 members out of the 31 present backed the recommendation to remove the CJ.
Tiseer said after the House adopted resolutions on the matter, the 13 suspended members, some of who voted in support of the recommendation to remove Justice Ikpambase, publicly dissociated themselves from the process in which they took part, thereby contravening Order IX, Rule 58(6) of the House Standing Rules.
The Majority Leader noted that their actions were not only dishonourable, but an afterthought and a deceptive posture capable of causing acrimony and casting aspersions on the House, calling on the Assembly to suspend them for three months.
The affected lawmakers include Mr. Douglas Akya (Makurdi South); Mr. Jonathan Agbidye (Katsina-Ala East); Mrs. Beckie Orpin (Gboko East); Mr. Simon Gabo (Ushongo-Mata); Mr. Williams Ortyom (Agasha); Mr. Onah Blessed (Oju 1) and Mr. Elias Audu (Gwer East).
Others are Mr. Anyor Mato (Kwande East); Mr. Manger Manger (Tarka); Mr. Solomon Gyila (Gwer West); Mr. Samuel Agada (Ogbadibo); Mr. Abraham Jabi (Buruku), and Mr. Ezra Nyiyongo (Ukum).
Meanwhile, in defiance of his suspension, the CJ is still discharging his official duties.
BOTH the National Judicial Council (NJC) and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) have faulted the Chief Judge’s suspension.
In a statement yesterday signed by its spokesperson, Kemi Ogedengbe, the NJC said Ikpambese remains the state’s Chief Judge until the complaints brought against him were investigated and deliberated upon by the council.
The NJC insisted that his purported removal cannot stand.
The NBA, also in a statement titled, “Purported Removal of Chief Judge of Benue State: A brazen assault on the Constitution” and signed by its National President, Mazi Afam Osigwe (SAN), and the General Secretary, Dr. Mobolaji Ojibara, stated that the exercise was unconstitutional and of no effect.
The statement reads in part: “The Nigerian Bar Association views with contempt the purported resolution passed by the Benue State House of Assembly directing Governor Hyacinth Alia to remove the Chief Judge, Honourable Justice Maurice Ikpambwese, from office. The resolution is not only unjustifiable but violates the spirit and intendment of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The removal of a judicial officer, especially one occupying the esteemed position of Chief Judge, must adhere strictly to due process as outlined in our Constitution. Any deviation from this process is a direct affront to the rule of law and poses a significant threat to our democracy.
“It is laughable for the House of Assembly of any State to purport to have the power to discuss much less recommend the removal of the Chief Judge of a State without the involvement of the National Judicial Council (NJC).”
The state government is, however, yet to react to the NBA statement.
