Rivers LG chair urges judges to avoid crisis-inducing judgments

The Chairman of Obio-Akpor Local Government Area in Rivers State, Chijioke Ihunwo, has urged judges to stop giving judgments that cause crises in communities.

Ihunwo said it was sad that some judges nowadays flout their professional ethics and integrity, collect money, and give judgments that plunge various communities into crisis.

The Council chairman, who decried that some fraudulent judgments are currently causing problems in the council, vowed to petition the judges to the Nigerian Judicial Council (NJC).

Ihunwo said, “I want to appeal to the judges, some of them will just, because of promises of properties and money, give judgments that will cause crises in communities. Someone is not from Rivers, and a judge says the person is from Rivers State; this is very unprofessional, and any moment from now, one of the judges that is giving the illegal judgments will be petitioned to the NJC.”

He also frowned upon some chiefs, elders, and community leaders who collect people’s properties with the connivance of lawyers. He, however, vowed to fight the illicit acts with all his might, saying no amount of blackmail will make him support illegality.

The LG boss stated this on Monday while highlighting his 100 days of achievements in office. He recalled that upon assumption of office as chairman of the council, he embarked on assessing the operational challenges in the council, which spurred him to swiftly swing into action to bring restoration and a facelift.

Ihunwo noted that he immediately restored scholarships for students in the council, began the process of bursary payment, ensured a reduction of taxes to 50 percent, rebranded the local security outfit for effective security in the area, set up a peace and reconciliation committee to restore peace, provided vehicles to councillors and principal officers, and flagged off the chairman’s administrative block, among others.

The council boss assured that his administration will continue to partner with all stakeholders and security agencies in promoting peace in the council area.

He, however, commended the state governor, Siminalayi Fubara, for his support and for giving council chairmen a free hand to perform their duties.

Speaking further, the council boss explained that his appointment of over 200 Special Assistants (SAs) was not political, as many alleged, but for empowerment purposes.

He said, “I did not make the appointments because of elections, no. I said, instead of using council money to organize parties, let us use it to empower our people.

“So, we have over 200 SAs, it is not political; even women and youths are among. This is to enable them to work and have viable means of income, it is not politics.”

Ihunwo also disclosed plans to train and retrain primary school teachers in the council to equip them with relevant skills that can enable them to do their work effectively and train the upcoming generations well.

He also explained that the essence of setting up a Point of Sale (POS) committee was to stop fraudulent activities by operators who, he said, sometimes swap the cards of their customers and defraud them.