RIVERS STATE GOVT.: Justice Peter Nwoke Chukwuma Agumagu Remains Chief Judge

Rivers State government yesterday formally rejected the suspension of the chief judge of the state, Justice Peter Nwoke Chukwuma Agumagu by the National Judicial Council (NJC).The NJC, headed by the chief justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, last week suspended Agumagu as a judicial officer, and gave him four days to answer a query on why he should not be removed.
 The state attorney-general and commissioner for justice, Hon Worgu Boms, who made the position of the state government known while addressing journalists at Government House, Port Harcourt, described the suspension as illegal and unconstitutional, insisting that Agumagu remains the substantive chief judge of the state.Boms said, “The position of NJC which is very unfortunate, gives an equally unfortunate and misleading impression to the public that the appointment of the Hon Justice PNC Agumagu as chief judge of Rivers State, occurred in nibubus (from the skies) and with no contribution of the NJC to it or that there is no history behind it. The Hon Justice PNC Agumagu, the NJC wants the world to believe, just woke up, walked to the State House and got appointed and sworn in as the chief judge. This impression is misleading, self-serving and diversionary.“It is important to state from the outset that the NJC has always preferred the doctrine of the Most Senior Judge of the High Court, in the appointment of the chief judge of Rivers State and in particular, the Hon Justice D.W. Okocha, as its candidate for the position.”“In its single-minded pursuit of the actualisation of this doctrine and preference, it enunciated further the doctrine that only a Judge of the State High Court is qualified for consideration for the office and that the Hon Justice Agumagu, then, President of the State’s Customary Court of Appeal, could not be allowed to cross over to become the State Chief Judge.
SOURCE: LeadershipNews.