Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, on Tuesday, swore in three newly-appointed judges of the state’s High Court.
During the ceremony, Governor Bello called on the nation’s Judiciary to purge itself of conflicting pronouncements.
Performing the swearing-in ceremony of Justices Abubakar S. Ibrahim, Sulyman Abdullah and Aminu Ali Eri, on Tuesday, in Lokoja, Governor Bello said that a virile and fearless Judiciary is vital to the future and survival of the country.
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Governor Bello, who was represented by his deputy, Chief Edward Onoja, said that after 61 years of independence, the Nigerian Nation was still at a crossroad in attaining a virile and fearless Judiciary.
He added that the lack of Justice has continued to rob citizens of the needed cohesion, saying that agitations for fairness, equity and Justice in some sections of the country have culminated in ill-advised violence retarding the nation’s development.
The governor noted that the situation requires that the Executive and the Legislature and more importantly, the Judiciary, should engage in a race against time to create a sense of belonging in all citizens in the Nigerian Project.
He said that the judiciary was uniquely positioned to entrench selfless political leadership with clear pronouncements on national issues.
Particularly, if should purge itself of the horrible practice of courts of coordinate jurisdiction coming in with conflicting orders on the same point of law or facts or both.
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“The Judiciary can help shepherd the citizens to be law-abiding by applying the justice of the case and not situational ethics which in reality, is nothing but more of the same parochial conjectures with which corrupt politicians pollute the clear water of our coexistence as a nation,” he said.
The governor also described the inauguration of the three judges as a ‘unique opportunity’ to strengthen the load-bearing capacity of the state Judiciary by installing more pillars in the High Court of Justice.
“I am glad that the three massive pillars we just planted are solidly cast to meet the highest juristic standard especially in learning and character.
He said that they had successfully withstood the test of time through many years of exposure and conditioning in different capacities cognate to their new positions.
“It is my pleasure to appoint your Lordships into office as justices of the High Court in accordance with Section 271(6) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.
He said that it would give him greater joy and pride to hear that they remained steadfast and continued to uphold the arms of Lady Justice long after he might have left office as governor of the state.
Governor Bello pledged to sustain the existing cordial relationship between the three arms of government to help deliver on good governance.
“In our Executive, we prefer to show synergy with the Judiciary and the Legislature as fellow arms of one government linked and working together to deliver on our governance responsibilities,” he said.
NAN reports that Justice A.S. Ibrahim and Justice Sulyman Abdullah were until their appointment, the Chief Registrar and Secretary, Judicial Service Commission respectively, while Justice Aminu Ali Eri, was a Magistrate with the FCT High Court of Justice.