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ABUJA – Amid the crisis rocking the Benue state judiciary, Members of the United World Congress of Diplomats (UN-WCD), have called for visa ban on the Benue State Chief Judge, the Registrar of the court, the current Senate Minority Leader and all those who supported the actions of the Chief Judge publicly in the ongoing judicial crisis in the state.
The group has also called on the Benue State governor, Rev Fr. Hyacinth Alia to appoint an acting Chief Judge to prevent a vacuum in the judiciary and uphold the uninterrupted delivery of justice to the citizens of Benue State.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, the group said that there’s need for total reform of the Nigerian judicial system to build the confidence of Nigerians.
Speaking at the press conference, a Professor of Politics & International Studies, Amb. Dr. Tunji John Asaolu, who led the group, explained that the call for judiciary reform was necessitated by alleged undue inference of judicial workers in Rivers, Osun, Benue states on political issues where conflicting orders were issued by judges just to frustrate democracy.
He refered to Osun State where there was a conflicting State High Court order and Appeal Court Judgment over the dissolution of Local Government Council Chairmen and their reinstatement and a fresh election by the state electoral empire.
Dr. Asaolu said the most worrisome of all is the alleged interference by the Benue State Chief Judge, Maurice Ikpambese who allegedly tried to undermine justice by granting waver to petitioners of local government election tribunal not to pay security deposit as stipulated by law.
UN-WCD described the conduct as against the core objectives of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG) which are to: “Promote adherence, by each State Party, to the universal values and principles of democracy and respect for human rights; and also the principle of the rule of law premised upon the respect for, and the supremacy of the Constitution and constitutional order in the political arrangements of the State Parties.”
The diplomats called on the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the National Judicial Council (NJC) to exercise caution and restraint in passing judgment on the removal of Justice Maurice Ikpambese untill a thorough investigation is conducted.
The Diplomats said: “We emphasize the importance of upholding the rule of law and ensuring accountability for all public officials, including judges. Any acts of misconduct or abuse of power must be met with swift and decisive action to maintain public trust and confidence in the judiciary.
“We can assure you that we will continue to monitor the situation closely and advocate for ethical governance practices in Nigeria and beyond.
“We have it on good authority that the National Judicial Council is yet to even constitute investigative panel to unravel the allegations against the Chief Judge, a resolution passed by the Benue State Legislative Arm of Government which recommended outright removal of the Chief Judge from office.
“The Benue State Chief Judge, the Registrar of the court, the current Senate Minority Leader, and all those who supported the actions of the Chief Judge publicly should be sanctioned and have their existing visas canceled and visa ban issued against them just as we advocated in the case of Rivers State and INEC officials who purposely sabotaged democratic principles during elections.
“We believe by now that the Honourable Chief Justice of Nigeria, who is a proactive officer should have set up a probe panel to immediately investigate the chief Judge even if the NJC is not willing to investigate the previous petitions against the CJ, the recent one passed by the State House of Assembly and forwarded by the Benue State Government to the NJC should have been under investigation by now.”
The group thereby urged the NJC and the NBA to act in accordance with the truth and uphold the rule of law by condemning any illegal actions committed by any Chief Judge, rather than endorsing or supporting any questionable conduct.
They further called on the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi to initiate an independent panel to thoroughly investigate the allegations of financial irregularities and breaches of ethical standards attributed to Chief Judge Ikpambese of Benue State since it is essential to ensure that due process is followed and that justice is served in the interest of public trust and accountability.
English (US) ·