BY AGNES NWORIE, ABAKALIKI
A Chief Magistrate in the Ebonyi State Judiciary, Chinedu Agama, is currently under trial before the State Judicial Service Commission for granting suspects bail in the leadership crisis of the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party.
Agama was earlier allegedly queried and transferred out of the state judicial headquarters in Abakaliki to Onueke, Ezza South Local Government Area of the state over the bail of the suspects.
After the transfer, the state JSC set up a panel to probe him, with Magistrate U.N.O Nweze as Chairman and Magistrate Job Orude as Secretary. Others included Fidelis Amaechi Iteshi and two female members.
The panel commenced sitting on Thursday but journalists and lawyers were barred from witnessing the panel’s proceedings.
The Panel Chairman, while explaining the reason for barring journalists and other lawyers from the proceeding, said the matter was an in-house matter.
He said, “What we are doing here is a very small administrative panel to look into complaints against one of us, and of course, you know in an organisation like this, there are some inbuilt mechanisms to look into complaints against supposedly erring staff.
“So, it is not everything that should be made public at a stage. If it were to be a judicial panel, probably we would allow journalists to come in and cover the proceedings but this one is in-house.
“We are a committee set up by the Judicial Service Commission. So, we are going to report back to them. They are the ones that will now look at what we have done, look into it critically and take a decision.”
Recall that there had been a power tussle between two factions of the state PDP, led by Onyekachi Nwebonyi and Fred Udeogu.
The Udeogu faction had gone to take over the party secretariat along Abakaliki/ Enugu highway, claiming that it was backed by a court order to do so, which led to the arrest of its Youth Leader, Obinna Iteshi, a lawyer.
Iteshi and two other boys – Ngamgbo Chukwunonso and Nwakpa Chibuzor – were arrested by the police, who stormed the secretariat to disperse the supporters of the two factions.
They were immediately arraigned before the state Magistrate Court, sitting in Abakaliki, presided over by Agama.
While Iteshi was arrested within the party Secretariat, the second and third accused persons were said to be returning from their examination centres when they were arrested.
They were arraigned on a four-count charge bordering on felony and conspiracy, among others.
Police Prosecutor, ASP Ayeni, told the court that the offences were punishable under sections 516A(a), 411(b), 451(1) and 12 of the Criminal Code Cap. 33, Vol. 1, Laws of Ebonyi State of Nigeria, 2009 and Ebonyi State Internal Security Enforcement and Related Matters Law, Cap. 55, Vol. 2, Laws of Ebonyi State of Nigeria, 2009.
The Presiding Magistrate, Agama, granted the suspects bail in the sum of N50,000 each, with one surety, in like sum, relying on Section 224 of Administrative Criminal Justice Law of Ebonyi State 2019 and adjourned the matter till February 15, 2021, for report of compliance.
Reacting, the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Chief Cletus Ofoke, said he was not behind the ordeal of Agama, contrary to speculation by the PDP.
Ofoke said, “The allegation that I am the one behind what is going on is unfounded. I want to inform you, may be you didn’t know before now, that I am a member of the Judicial Service Commission. We received a report on the abuse of office in respect of the man and that does not amount to Attorney General masterminding everything, not at all. And for your information, I am not a member of PDP.
“My own is that we have the Judicial Commission and we have rules and Magistrate and other court staff are the employees of the Ebonyi State Judicial Service Commission. I am not even the Chairman of the commission. So, the allegation is unfounded and a useless one.”
“I am a member of APC, a card carrying member of APC. So, they should leave me out of their trouble, I am not in PDP. They should sort themselves out,” he said.
