By Dan Johnson
The Benue State Government has reacted to recent comments from embattled Chief Judge, Justice Maurice Ikpambese alleging that the state is making moves to remove him because he refused to do the bidding of Governor Hyacinth Alia in the appointment of judges for the local government election petitions tribunal.
Justice Ikpambese, in a viral video at a burial event in the state claimed he was almost killed in his office the day two truckloads of sharp sand were dumped at the entrance to the High Court Complex to obstruct access “but God saved me”.
Speaking in Tiv dialect to his audience, the Chief Judge said: “They are using funds for development in the state to fight me; but they will fail because the people in Abuja (NJC) are behind me.
In his public outburst, which many have described as unbecoming of a senior member of the bench, Justice Ikpambese claimed that government descended on him after he rejected a request to appoint preferred judges who would favour the government at the tribunal.
Deviating from time honoured bench tradition of restraint and circumspection, the embattled judge regaled his shocked audience with tales of how of how he makes decisions on the judges he appoints to sit over cases.
He said: “By law, I’m the person to make the selection of judges that will perform that task. But one thing is that whenever I’m to make the selection, I pray. This is not a joke. Then I embark on a thorough screening of people (judges) to be selected to ascertain those who I deem fit for the job and those who I deem not fit. When I observe that any judge has a close affinity with someone, you won’t be selected. This is why when I made the selection, that would be difficult for them, or I don’t understand what the real problem is because even the judgments have not been passed or delivered,” he said.
He thereafter, in a manner of politicians soliciting for votes, directed his elder brother to give ‘transport fare” to the traditional rulers present at the occasion.
In a swift response to the Justice’s allegations and outbursts, the Benue State Government, through the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the Governor, Kulas Tersoo said the embattled Judge should not deflect from issues at hand but clear himself of alleged financial impropriety and tampering with the Local Government Law after its passage by the House of Assembly and accented to by Governor Alia.
Dismissing Justice Ikpambese’s claims in a statement, Tersoo said: “Ikpambese’s political outing fails to address serious allegations of corruption and misconduct against him.
“We watched with utmost disappointment a viral video on social media wherein the embattled Chief Judge of Benue State, Justice Maurice Ikpambese tried unsuccessfully to divert the attention of unsuspecting worshipers and by extension, the people of the state from the grievous allegations leveled against him, necessitating the Benue State House of Assembly to pass a resolution allowing Governor Hyacinth Alia to remove him as the Chief Judge.
“Though it is very curious for a Judicial Officer of his standing to take to the gallery to publicly peddle falsehood and employ the use of blackmail against the administration of Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia in defence of the recent action by the Benue State House of Assembly, the fact that Justice Ikpambese chose to speak publicly on the matter speaks volumes of the kind of judicial officer that he is.
“Justice Ikpambese went further in that video to expose himself when he stated that he actually selected justices that would be difficult for “them”. Wow!! This is indeed a confession as the saying goes: ‘…from the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh’
“Granted that Justice Ikpambase is entitled to express himself freely, it is baffling that instead of speaking to the very weighty allegations of misappropriation and mismanagement of the budgetary allocation and finances of the Benue State Judiciary to the tune of over N600m, abuse of office by issuing a directive to overturn the Benue State Electoral Law passed by the Benue State House of Assembly and assented to by the Governor of the State and engagement with politicians and political office holders for favorable judicial outcomes, he went on to mislead, misinform and deceive his listeners to weep up cheap sympathy.”
Meanwhile, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Comrade Daniel Onjeh has said Governor Alia’s decision to remove Justice Maurice Ikpambese as Chief Judge of the state is constitutionally valid and in line with due process.
In a statement on Friday, Onjeh criticised the National Judicial Council (NJC) and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) for opposition to the Governor’s decision, emphasising that the removal was executed within the constitutional framework provided in Section 292 of the Nigerian Constitution (1999, as amended).
Citing Section 292(1) of the Constitution, Onjeh explained that a Chief Judge of a State can be removed by the Governor, provided the action is supported by a two-thirds majority of the House of Assembly on grounds such as misconduct, incapacity, or a violation of the Code of Conduct.
“Nowhere in the Constitution does it state that the NJC’s recommendation is a prerequisite for such removal,” Onjeh stated. “While the NJC plays a role in disciplining judicial officers, it does not have absolute authority in this matter.”
He further clarified that Section 292(1) (b), which requires NJC involvement, is an entirely different approach outside the scope of Section 292(1)(a). “This means the removal of a Chief Judge can follow a process initiated by the legislative arm, without NJC’s recommendation,” Onjeh added.
Onjeh accused the NJC and NBA of being silent when the judiciary in Benue State was being used as a tool for political destabilisation.
A keen political observer in Benue State and analyst Joseph Aku described the Justice ‘s public outburst as an embarrassment to the noble profession of law and particularly to the bench.
“When a judge, who is supposed to be heard in the court of law where his words are law, turn himself to a partisan political player and start making political statements and making unsubstantiated allegations, the NJC should immediately show him the way out to avoid further disgrace and embarrassment to their noble profession. “
