Magistrate Was Compulsorily Retired For Misconduct, Clarifies Rivers Judiciary

THE Rivers State Judiciary has disputed the reasons given by retired Chief Magistrate, Ejike King George, for his exit from the Judiciary, insisting that he had earlier been retired compulsorily for misconduct.
Recall that George, in a widely circulated letter on social media, claimed that he had voluntary retirement from service due largely to discomfort with the recent appointment of a “quasi-military administration” to govern Rivers State.
In the letter, dated April 11, and addressed to the state chief judge through the secretary, Rivers State Judicial Service Commission, George said he was uncomfortable with the appointment of a retired military officer to run the state.
He stated that the current “quasi-military administration” in the state was alien to legal practitioners, adding: “This difficult and regrettable decision is informed largely by my discomfort with the recent appointment of a quasi-military administration to run the affairs of a modern state like ours.
“Milord (ostensibly referring to the state chief judge) will agree with me that this type of governance system is not only alien but also runs antithetical to our hallowed profession as legal practitioners and adjudicators.
“Having put in a whopping 16 out of my 22 years of legal practice to this judiciary as a Magistrate under successive democratic administrations, I find it difficult to work with the current government, as doing so would amount to a tacit and naïve acquiescence.”
But the Chief Registrar of the Rivers State High Court, David Ihua Maduenyi, at a press briefing in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, April 15, clarified that George was compulsorily retired from service with effect from February 10, this year, for disciplinary reasons, following complaints of prolonged absence from duty without official leave from August 25, 2023 to December last year.
Maduenyi stated that George appeared before a disciplinary panel of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), following the complaints, and was found culpable by the panel, which recommended either voluntary retirement or compulsory retirement.
The recommendation, he said, was subsequently submitted to the JSC, which approved his compulsory retirement.
Maduenyi , therefore, said George’s attempt to link his retirement from office to the lingering political crisis in the state was not only a contrived falsehood, but also a mischievous act aimed at deceiving the public and attracting undue sympathy and unmerited support.
George, in a letter circulated to journalists on Monday, said he resigned from service as a result of system of governance, which he stated was not only unfamiliar, but fundamentally contradicts the ideals and values of the legal profession, saying such a structure runs counter to the principles upheld by legal practitioners and adjudicators.
George was ostensibly referring to the declaration of emergency rule, suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his Deputy, Ngozi Odu, and members of the state House of Assembly, and subsequent appointment of Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd) as Sole Administrator by President Bola Tinubu on March 18, this year.