*As Benue Govt Hits Back With Corruption Claims

The crisis surrounding Benue State Chief Judge, Justice Maurice Ikpambese, has deepened following his allegations that the state government is orchestrating his removal for refusing to appoint preferred judges to the local government election petitions tribunal.

The Benue State Government has swiftly dismissed his claims, urging him to address allegations of corruption instead of engaging in what it described as blackmail.

In a viral video recorded at a burial ceremony, Justice Ikpambese alleged that he was targeted for resisting pressure from Governor Hyacinth Alia’s administration to appoint judges sympathetic to the government. Speaking in Tiv dialect, he accused the state of using public funds to fight him and claimed that the National Judicial Council (NJC) in Abuja was backing him.

“They are using funds meant for development to fight me, but they will fail because the people in Abuja (NJC) are behind me,” he stated.

The embattled Chief Judge recounted an incident where two truckloads of sharp sand were dumped at the entrance of the High Court Complex, allegedly to obstruct access to his office.

He said: “By law, I’m the person to make the selection of judges that will perform that task. But one thing is that whenever I’m to make the selection, I pray. This is not a joke. Then I embark on a thorough screening of people (judges) to be selected to ascertain those who I deem fit for the job and those who I deem not fit. When I observe that any judge has a close affinity with someone, you won’t be selected. This is why when I made the selection, that would be difficult for them, or I don’t understand what the real problem is because even the judgments have not been passed or delivered,” he said.

Reacting to the accusations, the Benue State Government, through the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Kulas Tersoo, dismissed Ikpambese’s claims as an attempt to divert attention from allegations of financial misconduct and interference with the Local Government Law.

“We watched with utmost disappointment as the Chief Judge tried unsuccessfully to divert attention from the grievous allegations against him, which led the Benue State House of Assembly to pass a resolution permitting Governor Alia to remove him,” Tersoo said.

According to the state government, Ikpambese faces allegations of misappropriation of judiciary funds and issuing a directive to overturn the Benue State Electoral Law passed by the House of Assembly and assented to by the governor.

“It is baffling that instead of addressing these serious charges, he chose to mislead and deceive his listeners to gain public sympathy,” Tersoo added.

Weighing in on the controversy, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Daniel Onjeh, backed Governor Alia’s decision to remove Ikpambese, stating that it was constitutionally valid and followed due process.

Onjeh criticized the NJC and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) for opposing the removal, arguing that Section 292(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) empowers a state governor to remove a Chief Judge, provided the decision is supported by a two-thirds majority of the State House of Assembly.

“Nowhere in the Constitution does it state that the NJC’s recommendation is a prerequisite for such removal,” Onjeh stated.

He further emphasized that while the NJC plays a disciplinary role in judicial matters, it does not hold absolute authority over the removal of a Chief Judge.

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