The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has threatened to take appropriate legal actions against the Abia State government if the suspended Justice Theresa Uzokwe is not restored as the Chief Judge of the state.
In a statement on Sunday in Lagos, the human rights group said that it would employ the National Judicial Council (NJC) and United Nations special procedure mechanisms to seek justice.
The group called on Governor Okezie Ikpeazu to withdraw the appointment of Justice Obisike Orji as the Acting Chief Judge of the state and restore Justice Theresa Uzokwe as the Chief Judge.
It would be recalled that the Abia House of Assembly had on January 26 passed a resolution suspending Uzokwe over allegations of misconduct.
The house led by Mr Chikwendu Kalu set up an eight-man ad-hoc committee to investigate allegations and subsequently recommended to the Governor the appointment of a Chief Judge in an acting capacity pending completion of the committee’s investigation.
Describing the appointment of Justice Orji in an acting capacity as illegal, SERAP’s Deputy Director, Mr Timothy Adewale said that suspension of Uzokwe without the involvement of the NJC was unlawful.
“The purported suspension of Justice Uzokwe violates Sections 292 (1)(a)(ii) and 21(d) Part 11 of the Third Schedule to the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended).
“It amounts to a blatant attack on the integrity and independence of the judiciary. No judge anywhere in Nigeria can be removed without the involvement of the NJC no matter the level of an allegation of misconduct against that judge,’’ the statement added.
Insinuating that the suspension of Uzokwe was politically motivated SERAP cautioned that the actions of the governor, if allowed to go unchecked, could set a bad precedent for other state governments, saying that it constituted a threat to the independence of the judiciary.
“The benefits of the integrity of the judiciary should never be supplanted by the temerity and excessiveness which political powers often breed.”
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