Lawyers in Aba, Abia state today embarked on a demonstration to drive home the fact that there is a massive corruption witch-hunting and incompetence going in at the Abia State House of Assembly. The happenings that led to the public demonstration by this learned gentlemen was the rape of the constitution and the law by the members of the Abia State House of Assembly. On the 17th day of July 2014, one fictitious Gideon Nwanmuo wrote a petition to the House of Assembly of Abia State accusing the Chief Justice of Abia stste, Hon. Justice Nnenna Otti, of embarking on a wild release of inmates of the Federal Priisons, Aba. According to the petitioner, criminals were released by the chief judge in her jail delivery and that singular conduct led to a soar in criminal activities, which according to the petitioner, culminated on the murder of the former commissioner of agriculture, Abia state. The House summoned the chief judge and appointed the house committee on the judiciary, headed by one of its members, Chidiebere Nwoke, to preside over the matter and find out the culpability or otherwise, of the honourable Chief judge of Abia state. Of course, the chief judge failed to appear before that panel and the House decided to weild the big stick and suspended the chief judge. That is the height of rascality. The chief judge of abia state is the head of the third arm of the govt of abia state. The powers and office of the chief judge are provided and protected by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Section 292(2) of the constitution provides for the procedure for the removal of the chief judge. Also, the supreme court has also expounded the procedure for the removal of the chief judge and what the Abia state house of Assembly did amounts to finding a scapegoat. Instead of the Abia state House of Assembly admitting that the govt of Theodore Orji has failed in providing security to people of Abia state, instead of the House to admit that it has failed to perform its role toward the protection of lives and property, a failure that led to the creating of an enabling environment for unknown persons to murder the erstwhile commissioner for Agriculture, the House is busy looking for scapegoats and punishing an innocent women. First of all, it is a trite principle of law that for a tribunal to even look at a complaint against a person, the accuser must be present to reel out the accusations against the defendant. On the date slated for the hearing of the accusations against the chief judge, Gideon Nwanmuo, the accuser of the chief judge, was not even present. He never attended the hearing and the committee at that point ought to dismiss the petition. They did not do that. Secondly, the accuser put his address as Agbama Housing Estate, enugu. There is no place known by that name and it is clear that that address is fictitious. Thirdly, the House of Assembly has no power under the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria to suspend a Chief Judge. The constitution gives the House the power either to confirm the appointment of the chief judge or to recommend his removal to the Governor. There is no provision in the law that allows the House to suspend a chief judge. Fourthly, there is no evidence either adduced by the police or the accusers of the chief judge, that any of the persons released by the chief judge has a hand in the murder or shooting of the commissioner. The murderers have not even been arrested so it appears that the allegations against the Chief judge may just be a case of giving a dog a bad name in order to hang it. Fifthly, the law is clear as to the remedies available to a person aggrieved by the exercise of the chief judge in making a jail delivery. Jail deliveries are one of the constitutional roles of the chief judge. It is a judicial act by virtue of section 240 of the constitution. Any person aggrieved by her conduct in official capacity, as in here, should file an appeal as an interested person to the court of Appeal and not petition the House. Sixthly, the powers of the house in the removal of the chief judge is restricted to circumstances where the chief judge is unable to perform her function as a result of an infirmity of the body or mind, or when there is a misconduct by the chief judge. The issue of misconduct should be given an objective interpretation and should not be bereft of the principle of fair hearing. Most importantly, the supreme court in the case of Elelu-Habeeb vs Attorney General of the Federation & 2 others (2012) 13NWLR (Pt. 1318) p. 423, held that by virtue of para. 21 sub.C and D of part 1 of the 3rd schedule of the 1999 constitution of nigeria, the National Judicial Council is the body saddled with the responsibility of disciplining judges and that the governor and the state house of Assembly does not have the power to remove a chief judge from office before her retirement age without the recommendation of the National Judicial Council. From the foregoing, it is clear that the Abia State House of Assembly acted ultra Vires its power in suspending the chief judge. What was their anger? Who were they afraid of? Were they acting any script written by someone? How can a House that has lawyers as its members turn the law upside down? Are there things we do not know? So many questions are raised and we know that the era where a judge would be afraid to rule on a matter or act in line with his conscience because of the fear of being removed is the biggest threat to liberty and civilization. Judges are the protectors of the oppressed and we call on all right-thinking people to condemn the act of the Abia state House of Assembly. The House should quickly reverse itself, restore the Chief judge and tender an unreserved apology to her forthwith. Anything short of this is an invitation to anarchy and a bad example.
Posted on: Mon, 04 Aug 2014 21:29:31 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015