Gombe judge petitions CJN, alleges exclusion from CJ list
Justice Beatrice Ilaya of the Gombe state High Court has written a protest letter to the National Judicial Council over the exclusion of her name from the list of judges to be considered for appointment as the Chief Judge of Gombe State.
In the letter, dated November 13, addressed to the NJC Chairman and Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, Justice Ilaya contended that the exclusion of her name from the list sent to the NJC directive on the appointment of a Chief Judge.
She noted that, as the most senior judge on the Gombe state High Court bench, there was no justification for the JSC not to send her name to the NJC.
The judge said, “I have been reliably informed that the JSC sent a memo to the NJC re-submitting the names of Honourable Justice Muazu A. Pindiga and Honorable Justice Joseph Ahmed Awak for appointment of the Chief Judge of Gombe state, excluding my name as the most senior judge, which is not in compliance with the directive of the NJC, following its meeting on 11th August, 2020, and the duo of Honourable Justice Muazu A. Pindiga and Honourable Justice Joseph Ahmed Awak are now being invited for an interview by the NJC Interview Committee, to be conducted on the 23rd of November, 2020.
“I wish to state that the current re-nomination made by the JSC is in defiance to the directive earlier issued by the NJC on this matter”.
Justice Ilaya said there was no legal or moral justification for the JSC to depart from the tradition of appointing the most senior judge as the Chief Judge.
“I humbly pray for the upright intervention of the NJC to curb the excesses of the JSC and salvage the system of administration of justice in Gombe State’, Justice Ilaya stated in the letter.