Eleven months after their elevation, Governor Godwin Obaseki, on Friday, swore in five of the eight judges of the Edo State High Court, who were recommended for appointment as Honourable High Court Judges by the National Judicial Council (NJC) in June 2023.
The judges are: Justice Obayuwana Osarenren Mathias, Justice Ehinon Anthony Okoh, Justice Ovenseri Otamere, Justice Bright Eraze Oniha and Justice Osayande Ikwuemosi Awawu.
THEWILL reports that eight Judges, including Justice Ovenseri Otamere, Justice Obayuwana Osarenren Mathias, Justice Edoghogho Eboigbe, Justice Ojo Maureen Osa, Justice Bright Eraze Oniha, Justice Ehinon Anthony Okoh, Justice Godwin Jeff Okundamiya and Justice Osayande Ikwuemosi Awawu, were cleared and appointed into the Edo State High Court by the NJC.
Although it cannot immediately confirm why only five of the judges were sworn in by the Governor, Chris Nehikhare, Edo State Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, had been quoted as saying that there are petitions against some of the judges, adding that they would be sworn in immediately investigations were concluded.
The Commissioner had spoken in response to public outcry over the refusal of the Governor to swear in the eight Judges.
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), in particular, described Obaseki’s action as an abuse of power and outright disregard for the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
Citing the provisions of section 271(2) of the Constitution, the NBA, through its Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL), said the Governor’s failure to swear in the judges had occasioned an impairment to the justice delivery system in the state, adding that there is currently a paucity of Judges to attend to the increasing number of cases thereby overburdening the existing jurists in the state with great workload.
“The duty of the Governor of Edo State to swear in these Judicial Officers is a constitutional obligation and not one to be observed at the pleasure of the Governor. Consequently, the continued delay in swearing in the new judicial officers is an abuse of power and an outright disregard for the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
“Furthermore, this delay has greatly impaired the financial means of the designated judicial officers who are all currently idling away without any means of sustenance for themselves and their families, as they can no longer, by virtue of their appointment as judicial officers, practice as lawyers,” SPIDEL Chairman, John Aikpokpo-Martins and Secretary, Funmi Adeogun, had said in a statement.
Other people of public interest had consistently called on the Governor to save the judiciary in Edo State by swearing in the judges, noting that Obaseki had in 2019, alienated 14 elected members of the Edo State House of Assembly when he refused to swear them in as lawmakers until their tenure expired in 2023.
Dr. Blessing Agbomhere, an aspirant in the recently concluded governorship primary of the APC in Edo State, had described Governor Obaseki’s action as a rape of democracy which stipulates respect for the rule of law and separation of powers.
This is in addition to a legal suit instituted against the Governor at the Federal High Court in Abuja, by Adaze Andrew Emwanta on December 8.
While five of the eight new judges have finally taken seats after 11 months in limbo, Governor Obaseki, who swore in the judges at the Festival Hall in Government House in Benin City, urged them to be impartial in their dispensation of justice.
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