NBA blames Abia CJ crisis on justice commissioner
By Anayo Okoli
Aba – NIGERIAN Bar Association, Aba branch, has blamed the lingering crisis over the appointment of a substan-tive Chief Judge for Abia State on the state Attorney-General and Commissio-ner for Justice, accusing him of giving Governor Theodore Orji wrong advice on the issue.
Since the last substantive Chief Judge, Mr. Sunday Imo, retired in December, 2010, the government had been running the judicial arm with acting Chief Judge, appointed every three months.
The current acting Chief Judge, Justice T. U. Uzokwe, was sworn-in last week, even as Governor Orji lamented that he was tired of swearing-in acting Chief Judge for the state, instead of a substantive one.
Rising from an emergency general meeting at the Chief Emman Akwiwu Bar Centre, High Court Complex Aba, the NBA called on the governor to, in future, appoint a knowledgeable and practicing lawyer to serve as Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice so that he would be properly advised on legal issues.
In a communiqué issued after the meeting by Uche S. Awa, Chairman of the bar, and Secretary, C. C. Nwachukwu, the NBA called on Governor Orji to appoint Justice Ijeoma Offonry the substantive Chief Judge of Abia State as recommended by the National Judicial Council, NJC.
According to the communiqué, Aba bar “reasonably believes that the illegalities being committed by the governor of Abia State are a result of wrong advice from the chief law officer, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice.
“Consequently, the Bar calls on the governor that in all future appointments of a chief law officer of the state, he should appoint a practicing legal practitio-ner fully equipped with legal knowledge to advise the state government properly.”
It also blamed Abia State House of Assembly for the lingering crisis, accusing the House of not giving Justice Offonry fair hearing before rejecting her appointment.
