Imo Assembly calls for Chief Judge’s removal over alleged age falsification
Following allegations of age falsification, the Imo House of Assembly has put forth a recommendation for the immediate removal of the state’s Chief Judge, Justice Theresa Chikeka.
During a session at the committee of the whole on Wednesday, the house reviewed the findings of a four-member ad hoc committee tasked with investigating the claims against the Chief Judge by a civil society group.
The committee’s report revealed that the petitioners were invited to participate in the inquiry, with key officials such as the Head of Service (HOS) and the Secretary of the Imo Judicial Service Commission, as well as the Chief Judge herself.
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While the others attended the session, the Chief Judge did not show up.
Furthermore, the report disclosed that information from the Nigerian Law School and the Imo HOS suggested that the Chief Judge had supposedly amended her birth date from October 27, 1956, to October 27, 1958.
Consequently, the house agreed to adopt the recommendation made by the committee, empowering Governor Hope Uzodimma to dismiss the Chief Judge “for gross misconduct as stipulated under section 292 (2) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended”.
Speaker Chike Olemgbe instructed that the resolution be sent to the National Judicial Council for appropriate measures to be taken.
Proofreading and editing by Fa’izatu Aliyu Doma, Journalist at Neptune Prime.
