Benue, Call On The Chief Judge, Ikpambese, Step Aside, Defend Himself Of Allegations Of Abuse Of Office, Others

MAKURDI: About a fortnight ago, the Majority Leader, Benue State House of Assembly (BNHA), Saater Tiseer, made a presentation to the House, calling for the removal of the Chief Judge of Benue State, Justice Maurice Ikpambese.

The call for the removal of the Chief Judge, was based on what the majority leader, described as “Gross violation of the ethical code of conduct and despicable acts incompatible with the status of a judicial officer” in Nigeria.

According to him, what the ‘sins’ of Justice Ikpambese, were in “our estimation and perhaps in the estimation of right thinking members of the society, an imprudent violation of the ethical standards expected of judicial officers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”

Some of the grounds on which the State Government, through the Benue Assembly made to remove the Chief Judge, were alleged abuse of office by issuing a directive to waive certain provisions of the Benue State Electoral Law that was passed by the State Assembly, and duly assented to by the State Governor.

Other allegations advanced for his removal were the alleged misappropriation and mismanagement of Budgetary Allocation and Finances of the Benue State Judiciary; Engagements with politicians and political office holders for favourable judicial outcomes; Indirect participation and incitement of industrial actions against the state executive, as well as acts of bribery, corruption and undue favouritism and the insistence that some of his close friends and associates hold judicial positions, they did not merit.

On the allegations of the abuse of office, the Assembly, observed that by issuing a directive to over turn the Benue State Electoral Law, 2007, which is in mandatory terms, the chief judge seeks to favour a particular set of people.

The law, in Section 76 states: “At the time of presenting an election petition, the petitioner shall give security for all cost which may become payable by him to any witness summoned on his behalf or to any Respondent”

Stressing that waiving the State electoral law, a law that ensures the mandatory provision for deposit of security for cost by the petitioners, the majority leader alleged that it is supposed that the directive issued by the Chief Judge is superior to the law of the state, whereas this is not so.

The assembly further alleged the engagement of the chief judge, with politicians and other political office holders for “favourable judicial outcomes”

Tiseer, stressed that while there was “overwhelming evidence” to the effect that, Justice Ikpambese has traded the reputation of the bench and of his official position as the Chief Judge of the state for political and or pecuniary gains, he argued that this was demonstrated through decisions that sought to undermine the State Assembly and the State Executive.

“For promised gains, Justice Ikpambese for instance, issued a mere letter invalidating the state electoral law as regards the mandatory payment of cost by petitioners in the Benue State Local Government Election Petition currently ongoing in the state. By this letter, the Tribunal has been flooded with over 350 frivolous petitions from petitioners who, largely did not even participate in the said election.

“His decision to grant a waiver to every intending petitioner for them not to pay cost as mandatorily prescribed by the state electoral law opened the gateway for this judicial frivolity thereby placing a burden on the state executive to engage so many lawyers to defend the said petitions on behalf of the State Electoral body.

Closely connected, he said is that the chief judge may have become an actor in the alleged industrial action by staff of the Benue State Judiciary.

“Available evidence establishes firmly that, he incited the factional leadership of the Benue state chapter of the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria to embark on the said industrial action”, Tiseer also alleged.

In the same vein, the state assembly alleged issues of misappropriation and mismanagement of budgetary allocation and finances of the state judiciary.

During the presentation the majority leader, Saater Tiseer further alleged that since the emergence of Ikpambese, as the Chief Judge of the state, he spends way beyond the budgetary allocation of the judiciary.

In his words, “Similarly, he (chief judge) has not, by the string of any imagination rendered account of expenditures from the state judiciary. There is a huge discrepancy in the financial figures under his watch from our findings. We shall consider this ground on financial infractions from the Benue State High Court, the Customary Court of Appeal and the Benue State Judicial Service Commission.

“Available records secured from remittances from the Accountant- General to High Court of Justice from January to December, 2024 and Bank statements from High Court of Justice covering Zenith Bank, First Bank, Fidelity Bank and Unity Bank indicate convincingly that Justice M.A. Ikpambese over spent the 2024 budget on International Travels, and Training and Renovation of office buildings to the tune of N666,984,687.20 which contravened sections 0206, 0632 and 0635 of the Financial Instructions (FI).

He argued that the effect of over- budgetary spending without approval by the relevant authorities is a serious offence that was committed by the management of the Benue State High Court of Justice as contained in Sections 0206, 0632 and 0635 of the FI.

Giving a detailed breakdown he explained that, “We also discovered during our examination of records of the Management of the Benue State High Court of Justice, under the leadership of Hon. Justice M.A. Ikpambese that they have misappropriated and spent money on oversea travels worth N104,325,560.00 only from capital project account as against what was approved in the 2024 annual estimates without due consideration for the economy, efficiency and effectively as contained in section 0634 and 0635 of the FI.

“We (also) observed through the examination of records that the management of the High Court of Justice expended the sum of N120,750,000= only for the purchase of furniture and furnishing for the period under review by Mr. Benjamin. However, we could not establish whether this money was used for the purpose intended as specified because there was no evidence of payment vouchers for us to verify or store receipts to prove the acquisitions of the said furniture”, he said among other findings.

He also tendered the report of the State Judicial Service Commission (JSC), Makurdi, from 1st January to 31st December, 2024, and observed that monies were transferred into the Commission’s Project Account “but the Account Statement of the Project Account was not provided so we were unable to ascertain the account’s cash flow.

It was following these “overwhelming evidences” at the disposal of the state assembly that Tiseer, called on his colleagues, the lawmakers, “to forthwith, make the necessary recommendations for the removal of Honourable Justice Maurice Ikpambese as the Chief Judge of Benue State in line with Section 292(1)(a)(II) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

“Direct the forwarding of a complaint to the National Judicial Council so as to carry out an honest, independent, hitch-free, transparent and diligent investigation into these allegations, especially as they relate to the abuse of his office as Judicial Officer demonstrated by his confrontational disregard for the laws enacted by the state legislature and the financial infractions against him pending the recommendation of the National Judicial Council as provided in Section 292(1)(b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

“We call for the state assembly to recommend for immediate swearing in of the next-in-line Judicial Officer within the state as the Acting Chief Judge of Benue state.

While, the majority leader raised these allegation, he stressed that the lawmakers were prepared to substantiate their claims with particulars, but would prefer to hold unto some of them, until the investigation by the National Judicial Commission (NJC) commences.

However, last weekend, the chief judge, Justice Maurice Ikpambese, alleged that he was being witch-hunted by the state government for his refusal to compromise in the postings of judicial officers preferred by the state government, an allegation which Sir Kula Tersoo, the Chief Press Secretary (CPS), to the State Governor, Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia, described as a blackmail.

Kula, argued that all the while what the state government and the people needed from the chief judge, was for him to defend himself and proved his innocence of the allegations leveled against him, instead of making unsubstantiated claims.

Observers have also said that instead of coming out clean on the matter, Justice Ikpambese, has been playing to the gallery.

And in defense of Governor Hyacinth Alia, Kula, advised the chief judge, to step aside, defend himself of the allegations leveled against him, instead of trying to blackmail his principal. End.