By Amaechi Okonkwo, Port Harcourt
A group of lawyers, as Concerned Lawyers in Rivers state, has kicked against the approval by the National Judicial Commission NJC, the appointment of Justice Simeon C. Amadi, as the chief judge of Rivers state, to replace Justice Adanma Iyayi-Lamikanra, current chief judge who is set to retire in May 2021.
The group, represented by 12 signatories to a statement in Port Harcourt, said the approval was against an established tradition of seniority applied in the appointment of chief judges of the state saying that the most senior Justice Joy Akpughunum was supposed to be the position.
The concerned lawyers expressed shock that the name of Justice Akpughunum was not on the nomination list sent to the NJC by the state government and lamented that such an action was capable of throwing the Rivers judiciary into crisis as was experienced in 2014 when the then Governor Chibuike Amaechi, against the recommendation of the NJC appointed Justice Peter N. C. Agumagu as chief judge against the most senior judge, Justice Daisy Okocha.
The lawyers said, in their statement, “It was with shock that we received the news on Friday, March 19, 2021 that the National Judicial Council NJC had approved the appointment of His Lordship, Justice Simeon Chibuzor Amadi as chief judge of Rivers state to succeed the incumbent chief judge of the state, the Justice Adanma Iyayi-Lamikanra who is to retire from active service in May, 2021.
“Our shock flows from our memories of the ugly crisis the judiciary was embroiled in the last time an adventurous governor stepped over the most senior judge of the High Court to appoint another judge rendering judicial services at the Customary Court of Appeal in Rivers state.”
They said that the consequent avoidable judicial crisis in the state then was regrettable and one that should be avoided by the incumbent governor, Nyesom Wike who resolved it on coming to office in 2015.
They went on; “That decision of His Excellency (Wike) to nominate the most senior judge of the judiciary for appointment as chief judge was hailed by the legal profession and civil society especially because the nominee was not an indigene of Rivers state.
“The governor was hailed because he kept faith with a hallowed tradition even in that unlikely situation; this tradition which is also practised in the apex court of Nigeria, the Court of Appeal and the federal courts of first instance, that is, the Federal High Court and the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, dissuades unhealthy competition and jostling for leadership, promotes the independence of the judiciary, assures seamless transition and succession, continuity and avails the public the certainty of experience in office.”
The legal community in Rivers state is at a loss as to why His Lordship, the Honourable Justice Joy Akpughunum was excluded by the government of Rivers state in the list of nominees sent by the state to the NJC for consideration in the succession to the chief judgeship of Rivers state.”
“Why was the NJC mischievously presented with a fait accompli to make a choice between candidates that, by judicial tradition, ought to have been considered only after the most senior was found unworthy or unqualified by the NJC?
“There has been great disquiet in legal circles since this unsavoury news broke last Friday. Theories of political calculations and ethnic bias are being churned out to explain this policy flip by a government that prides itself as being respectful of the law, judicial tradition and the judiciary.
“A storm is brewing in Rivers state as a result of this indiscreet application of executive power to pervert judicial tradition. We lay no blames at the feet of the NJC but we humbly urge that august body to cause an investigation to be carried out to ascertain the reasons tradition was jettisoned for unknown factors and considerations. We also humbly urge the government of Rivers state to retrace its steps before the matter escalates into a full-blown crisis.”