Opinion: By Vincent Aluu

Nigeria is indeed a country of great complexities and surprises. If Boko Haram is not beheading Nigerian, they will be bombing Army Barracks and razing down an entire village. Also, if herdsmen are not killing farmers, government official will be heard asking Nigerians to accommodate killers and terrorists. More so, if a Nigerian is not denied the right to contest an election in his own state, a whole region carts away all appointments.

The news emanating from Cross River state has further added salt to injury on the highly polarized nation still grappling with the issue of ethnicity and marginalization. What can we make of the rejection of Justice Akon Ikpeme as Chief Justice of Cross River State on the grounds that she is not from Cross River State? What qualifies one to be a citizen of a state or Nigeria? Is there a thing the Cross River House of Assembly knows that other don’t know about Justice Ikpeme? Has the appointment of Justice Ikpeme offended any section of the Nigeria 1999 constitution as amended?

For the avoidance of doubt, Section 271 subsection (1-5) states as follows:
(1) The appointment of a person to the office of Chief Judge of a State shall be made by the Governor of the State on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council subject to confirmation of the appointment by the House of Assembly of the State.
(2) The appointment of a person to the office of a Judge of a High Court of a State shall be made by the Governor of the State acting on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council.
(3) A person shall not be qualified to hold office of a Judge of a High Court of a State unless he is qualified to practice as a legal practitioner in Nigeria and has been so qualified for a period of not less than ten years.
(4) If the office of Chief Judge of a State is vacant or if the person holding the office is for any person unable to perform the functions of the office, then until a person has been appointed to and has assumed the functions of that office, or until the person holding the office has resumed those functions, the Governor of the State shall appoint the most senior Judge of the High Court to perform those functions.
(5) Except on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council an appointment pursuant to subsection (4) of this section shall cease to have effect after expiration of three months from the date of such appointment and the Governor shall not re-appoint a person whose appointment has lapsed.

Origin

Justice Akon Ikpeme an Akwa Ibom by birth got is married to Dr. Bassey Ikpeme, a prominent medical doctor from Odukpani Local Government Area of the state. Justice Ikpeme’s father was a District Officer (what we now call a Local Government Chairman) in the old South Eastern/Cross River State and rose to become a Permanent Secretary in the State Civil Service. His wife, Justice Ikpeme’s mother, is from Big Qua, Calabar. Justice Ikpeme was born, raised by her mother, educated, and has spent her entire illustrious working career in Cross River State. She was appointed a High Court Judge in the Cross River State Judiciary on October 23, 1998. She has worked at several judicial divisions, handled trial of civil, criminal and other cases, served at various election petition tribunals until her appointment as acting Chief Judge in December 2019.

Shortly after the retirement of Hon. Justice Michael Edem as Chief Judge, there was need to appoint another to fill the vacuum. Three names were sent to the NJC by the Governor for recommendation. NJC in its wisdom chose Justice Ikpeme based on seniority and experience. There are only two criteria for the appointment of a State CJ – first, seniority; second, a clean record of service. Justice Ikpeme met both criteria beyond any dispute.

Justice Ikpeme was accused of receiving bribes from Senator Dino Melaye to give judgment in his favour after the 2015 senatorial election. In a letter dated 9 May, 2019 to the petitioners (Mr. Olarewaju Suraju, Chairman Civil Society Network Against Corruption and Senator Smart Adeyemi, CON) that alleged the Respondent collected bribes and sort favor from Senator Dino Milaye to rule in his favor and made available to our newsroom. According to the letter signed by Council Secretary, Ahmed Gambo Saleh, Esq. the three-man Committee set up to investigate the allegation found that “in view of the demonstrations given by the expert witness during the hearing, it finds it difficult to accept that the alleged ex parte conversation between Senator Dino Milaye and the Respondent indeed took place.

A panel set up by the National Judicial Council (NJC) has dismissed the petition from Senator Smart Adeyemi against Justice Akon Ikpeme of the Cross River State judiciary. She was the tribunal judge who headed the National and State Houses of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal in 2015 and was accused of compromise by the petitioners. Explaining the dismissal of the petition by NJC to news men in Calabar, Ntufam Mba Ekpezu Ukweni (SAN), said Justice Ikpeme was accused of collecting bribe by Senator Adeyemi and others but that the council exonerated her of the accusation. The council at its meeting held on April 18, 2019, after deliberating on the report of the committee, accepted the findings of the panel and dismissed the petition for lack of merit.

While swearing in the acting Chief Judge after dilly dunging for months, Governor Ben Ayade said, “I have full respect for section 153 of the 1999 constitution as amended, which provides for the setting up of the National Judicial Council to safeguard the judiciary from the executive.” According to Ayade, “the National Judicial Council is the final authority on matters involving the appointment of the Chief Judge of the state. I also recognize the role of the governor as well and I believe that for the interest and peace of the state, for the goodness of character and the warmness of the state, the right thing to do at this point is what the state has done by swearing in an acting chief Judge.” The governor maintained that, “the beauty of the law is that the law is derived from morality, ethics and norms of the people,” pointing out that “the law has moral sensitivity that we must respect hence Hon Justice Ikpeme’s appointment today is a clear testimony of the civilization of Cross River state.”
Ayade who was excited at the acting Chief Judge’s curriculum vitae remarked that he had no doubt on her intellectual capacity that will drive the judiciary of the state. Declaring his full respect for the acting Chief Judge given her pedigree, capacity, qualification and content, Ayade said “given your extensive experience as I read out from your CV, it is obvious and clear that indeed your tenure as the acting Chief Judge of Cross River will see a tremendous improvement in our judicial system.”
The Intrigues
In the early hours of Monday March 2, 2020, the Cross River State House of Assembly desecrated the 1999 constitution, the ground norms that governs the land, defied the orders of the Nigeria Judicial Council by rejecting the nomination of Justice Akon Ikpeme as substantive CJ of Cross River State. The reason adduced for their action is that Justice Ikpeme is from Akwa Ibom State hence poses security risk to Cross River if appointed in substantive capacity. It is believed in many quarters that her rejection is a cover to pave way for the swearing in of Justice Maurice Eneji, the second most senior Judge after Ikpeme.

News has it that the Assembly during Monday’s plenary declined her nomination in a voice vote after it rejected two parallel reports from the judicial committee of the house. The Chairman of the Committee on Judiciary, Efa Esua recommended Justice Akon for confirmation while the other report by Godwin Akwaji, member representing Obudu state constituency rejected her confirmation on grounds that she is not from Cross River State. As a result of the impasse, the House after extensive deliberations on both reports constituted themselves into committee of the whole house which ultimately rejected her confirmation in a voice vote.

Ekpo Ekpo Bassey, member representing Bakassi, while contributing during plenary cautioned the House against setting a bad precedence. “This is my fifth year in the House and I have never seen two reports by a committee being presented to the House. The House has to be on the side of justice at all times and avoid setting a bad precedence. We need to strengthen institutions and avoid sowing seeds of ethnicity and disunity in the House,”
Itam Abang from Boki state constituency, said never in the history of the House had two reports been presented and asked his colleagues to accept the report of the Committee on Judiciary by confirming Justice Ikpeme. “Never in the history of the House have we had two reports. It’s very sad that in the 21st century we are whipping up ethnic sentiments. It’s wrong to whip up ethnic sentiments because we have children and don’t know where they will be married. Justice Ikpeme gave the state her productive years to the development of our dear state. We cannot accuse others of ethnicity and end up promoting same in our state. Rejecting her nomination on account of her origin is injustice of the highest order,

Representative Francis Bassey Asuquo representing Odukpani State Constituency, said Akon is from his constituency Odukpani and his people are proud of her. He added that states were created for administrative convenience and Akon’s record of service was impeccable hence the need for the House to confirm her appointment as doing other amounts to grave injustice and ethnicity taken too far.

Chris Ogar from Etung state constituency, Deputy Chairman of Committee on Judiciary, who read the parallel report said her confirmation would constitute a conflict of interest because she is from Akwa Ibom. He urged the House to withhold her confirmation because it would not be in the best interest of Cross River State.
Implications

Pundits are pointing accusing fingers the way of Governor Ben Ayade whom they say is bent on defeating the nomination of Justice Akon Ikpeme to the office of Chief Judge of Cross River State. He is being accused of nursing the intention of resurrecting the demon of ethnic tension in Cross River State.

It must be noted that it is no big deal to be married to another state hence the reason adduced by the state House of Assembly for rejecting Akon’s appointment may fall like a pack of card in the face of facts. History has it that Cross River State has two previous Governors whose partners are from Rivers and Delta States respectively. Also, partners of some previous Speakers of the House of Assembly are also from outside the State with the wife of the current Speaker, Eteng Jones Williams from Akwa Ibom State. It must be noted that many of the Governor’s Commissioners, Special Advisers, SSA and other appointees are from outside Cross River State. Indeed, some were appointed because they are not indigenes of this State. Many more are married to non-Cross Riverians. In fact, his most media-friendly Commissioner, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Betta Edu, is not from the State but like Justice Akon Ikpeme is married to a Cross Riverian.

Pundits are pointing accusing fingers the way of Governor Ben Ayade whom they say is bent on defeating the nomination of Justice Akon Ikpeme to the office of Chief Judge of Cross River State. He is being accused of nursing the intention of resurrecting the demon of ethnic tension in Cross River State.

Eyo Ekpo, a former Attorney General of Cross river state condemned in strong terms the decision of the House to decline the confirmation of Justice Akon stating their reasons as petty and an attempt at foist ethnicity and desecrate the 1999 constitution. Ekpo maintained that the Governor and the House of Assembly play only formal and symbolic role in the process of appointing members of the Judicial arm of Government stating that appointing a Chief Judge is really a matter for the Judiciary and ethnic origin is not a relevant criterion in that process.
Ekpo concluded by saying that as long as a valid and unimpeachable nomination has been made, that the Governor and House of Assembly are engaging in blatant political brinkmanship to defeat that nomination. He said they should be fully assured that the NJC is unlikely to recommend any other Judge of the State High Court to act as, or become, CJ.

The implication of the above is that even if the House of Assembly does not approve the nomination of Justice Ikpeme as CJ today, and goes ahead to swear in Maurice Eneji in whatever capacity, Cross River State would have the dubious record of being the first whose Governor and Speaker attempted to subvert the constitutional process of judicial appointment and thereby precipitated a type of constitutional crisis that Nigeria has never experienced before.

Recall that this is not the first time states are experiencing such crisis over Chief Judge appointments. Rivers, Abia and Kwara state respectively had similar issues. The power over who becomes a CJ rests squarely on the Nigeria Judicial Council as enshrined in the 1999 constitution as amended. Offenders to the relevant provisions of the law as regards that have always gone home with bloody noses. It remains to be seen whether the House of Assembly will rescind its decision on the rejection of Justice Ikpeme but book makers are of the view that the NJC will wield the big stick for any junior Judge to present himself for appointment.

Justice Ikpeme’s tenure as acting Chief Judge expired yesterday March 2, 2020. Will the state Judiciary be rudderless without a Head? Will the Governor offend section 271 (1-5) of the 1999 constitution as amended? Will the House of Assembly do the needful by reversing itself to confirm Justice Ikpeme as substantive Chief Judge? Will Govenror Ben Ayade proof book makers right by swearing in Justice Maurice Eneji as Acting Chief Justice without recommendations from NJC? The case of Rivers State that happened in 2013 is still fresh in our memories. Only time will tell.