April 29, (THEWILL) – The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, has urged the Nigerian Bar Association to refrain from filing frivolous petitions against judges, stressing the need to protect judicial integrity.
Speaking on Tuesday in a statement signed by her Senior Special Assistant on Media, Tobi Soniyi, Justice Kekere-Ekun pointed out that many corruption allegations made against judicial officers lack substance and are simply aimed at intimidation.
“Some people write petitions against judges simply to intimidate them. Anyone accusing judges of corruption must support the allegation with clear and credible evidence”, she said.
Justice Kekere-Ekun also expressed disappointment over the NBA’s silence when judges are publicly maligned without cause. She criticised lawyers who go on television to castigate judges without even reading the court’s judgements.
The CJN urged senior lawyers to mentor younger colleagues in professionalism and discipline, adding that the legal profession must defend, not discredit, the judiciary.
She encouraged anyone with genuine complaints against judges to approach the National Judicial Council.
The chairman of the NBA Bar and Bench Forum, Richard Ahonaruogho, echoed the CJN’s concerns, recommending that the NJC discard frivolous petitions and sanction petitioners with heavy costs to deter abuse.
Ahonaruogho also appealed to the CJN to help foster mutual respect between the Bar and the Bench.
Meanwhile, the NBA in Rivers State has slammed the State Administrator, Retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, over a recent query issued to the Chairman of the Port Harcourt Branch of the association, Cordelia Eke.
The Administrator had in a query dated April 25, and signed by Ebiriemg Deresima, the director of administration at the Rivers State Ministry of Justice, accused Mrs Eke of “serious misconduct”.
The allegations stem from her purported co-authorship of a communique that strongly criticised the Ibas administration for what the NBA described as “severe and brazen acts of lawlessness and impunity”, including the alleged dismantling of democratic institutions and attacks on peaceful protesters.
Responding in a joint statement, the chairmen of the eight NBA branches in Rivers State condemned the attempt to intimidate Mrs Eke and suppress dissenting voices within the legal community of the state.
They clarified that Mrs Eke issued the referenced communique not in her capacity as a civil servant, but in her duly elected role as the Chairman of the Port Harcourt Branch of the NBA, acting in accordance with her constitutional mandate within the association.
Emphasising that the communique dated April 9, was the outcome of formal deliberations within the association and accurately reflected the unified position of all NBA branches across Rivers State, they insisted that their views are consistent with the stance articulated by the national leadership of the NBA, as expressed by the Association’s President, Afam Osigwe, SAN.
They reaffirmed their unwavering commitment to resist any form of harassment or persecution targeting the leadership of the NBA, its members, or the wider public within Rivers State.
“The query to our brother Chairman is nothing but a ploy by which the Sole Administrator seeks to intimidate her into discontinuing her functions and duties as Chairman of NBA Port Harcourt Branch, and an attempt to intimidate lawyers in Rivers State and by extension other good people of Rivers State from standing up and speaking against executive rascality and impunity.
“Consequently, we, the Chairmen of NBA Branches in Rivers State, condemn in its entirety, the query issued to our Brother Chairman of NBA Port Harcourt Branch and demand an immediate withdrawal of the same”, they said in a statement jointly signed by Dr Hilda Desmond-Ihekaire, Chairman, Ahoada Branch; Simple Dioha, Esq., Chairman, Isiokpo Branch; Abiye Abo, Esq., Chairman, Degema Branch; Dr N. A. Duson, Chairman, Bori Branch; and Dr Celestine Nwankwo, Chairman, Okehi Branch.
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