A senior judge in the Gombe State Judiciary, Justice Beatrice Lazarus Iliya, has petitioned the National Judicial Council (NJC) over alleged moves by the state government to deny her appointment as the chief judge of the state.
In a letter to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad dated July 17, 2020, Justice Iliya requested his intervention in the alleged lack of fair hearing, faulty procedure and criteria used by the state’s Judicial Service Committee for the appointment of the new chief judge.
She said despite being the most senior judge in the state having been called to the bar in 1981 and served as the acting chief judge of the state for three months from September 4, 2019 and December 4, 2019, the NJC in a letter dated July 10, 2020 invited for interview on July 22 Justices Joseph Ahmed Awak (called to the bar 1983) and Justice Muazu Pindiga (called to the bar 1988).
The judge also informed the CJN that she had sent in presentations dated April 21, 2020 and a verifying affidavit dated May 6, 2020 where she complained that the Attorney General of the state cannot preside over a petition against her by “a grain merchant complaining to the governor that I moved into the office of the chief judge when I was in acting capacity.”
“Therefore, I humbly pray that my earlier presentations and all the issues raised therein should be investigated and resolved before the interview of the shortlisted candidates,” she said.
Copied in the letter were the chairman, NJC interview committee, Justice Bode Rhodes Vivour; the Secretary of NJC and the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
When contacted, the Gombe State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Barrister Zubairu Mohammed Umar, debunked the claim that Justice Iliya’s name was not forwarded to the NJC because of a petition against her.
He said she was assessed alongside Justice Pindiga, the Acting Chief Judge and the latter was found to have better administrative skills than her.
He said in a memo he wrote to the state’s Judicial Service Commission, there was no mention of any petition because its contents had no substance to be considered in the report.
