Rivers State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Worgu Boms, at the weekend denied insinuations in certain quarters that Governor Rotimi Amaechi has been teleguiding judges in the state.

Boms made the clarification in a press release endorsed by himself titled “Rivers State Does Not Have Only Four Incorruptible Judges”. He was reacting to a publication by one Monwan O. Etete that Governor Amaechi was influencing Acting Chief Judge, Justice P.N.C Agumagu to transfer some political cases away from four “incorruptible judges.”

Boms described such allegations from “legal standpoint as not only a criminal contempt but as a part of the political group’s emerging desperate politics in the state which does not hold anything sacred except that which accords with the group’s political calculation.”

The Justice Commissioner who just came back from Boston, USA, after attending the one-week, International Bar Association (IBA) Conference added: “By stating as Monwan O. Etete’s political group did, that Ag. Chief Judge has commenced the transfer of those cases from four of these 35 judges, which four they described as uncompromising and unapproachable (long words for incorruptibilty) to the other “judges who are willing to do the bidding” of His Excellency, the Governor (long words for corruption), the group is clearly alleging that the other eminent and hard-working and conscientious judges – having appeared before all of them as a practising lawyer I can confidently so describe them as conscientious and hardworking – are all corrupt and can therefoore not be trusted with handling of cases, or at least,to use their languages, political cases.”

Describing the involvement of the Chief Registrar as unfortunate, Hon. Boms, submitted that “the polity cannot make real progress with this style and brand of politics with blackmail as its trademark . . . I appeal that in the interest of all those who live in this state, the judiciary which has its several inherent systems of self-correction including its appellate machinery, should not be treated as the Monwan’s group has done and are doing through several sponsored publications by different names.”

Continuing, Boms said: “Let all political bitterness cease. Let political power and relevance be sought for through decent, non-violence and ruled-based means, for judges are the last bastion of our civilisation and civility and the best evidence of our love of liberty and our membership of humanity and respect for judges is proof of our individual and collective subscription to the high ideals of justice and deep appreciation of the very crucially important work their Lordships perform for our beleaguered polity.”

•Photo shows Governor Amaechi.

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