Kebbi Assembly speaks on non-confirmation of acting Chief Judge for ‘being Christian’

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Kebbi Assembly speaks on non-confirmation of acting Chief Judge for ‘being Christian’

 

Speaker of the Kebbi State House of Assembly, Abdulmumin Ismaila Kamba, has stated that lawmakers did not work against the confirmation of the Acting Chief Judge, Justice Asabe Karatu, for being a Christian.

Kamba explained that she was not confirmed due to alleged alterations in her Primary School Leaving Certificate and that her Date of Birth was also altered on the same certificate from May 1952 to May 1954.

Karatu had written a petition to the National Judicial Council over Governor Atiku Bagudu’s alleged refusal to confirm her as substantive Chief Judge.

Reacting, the Speaker, in a statement, said: “The attention of the Kebbi State House of Assembly has been drawn to a story circulating in the social media with the title: “Kebbi female Acting Chief Judge petitions National Judicial Council over Governor Bagudu’s refusal to confirm her for being Christian.

“In it, it was alleged that the Kebbi State House of Assembly had written to the Kebbi State Governor confirming Justice Asabe Karatu as Chief Judge of Kebbi State on January 17th, 2019. This is not correct. There was never such a communication.

“The Kebbi State Governor, Senator Abubakar A. Bagudu, wrote to the House on June 02, 2018 appointing Justice Asabe Karatu as Chief Judge and seeking the confirmation of the House as required by the constitution. Justice Asabe Karatu was invited by the House on August 1, 2018.

“During the confirmation hearing, which Justice Karatu attended in the company of some Higher Court Judges, it was observed by honourable members that the Primary School Leaving Certificate presented by Justice Karatu was altered severally, including alteration to the date of birth from May 1952 to May 1954. Justice Karatu accepted that she was aware of the alterations but that they were done by the Headmaster.

“On account of the alterations and other inconsistencies in her credentials, the House rejected the request by the governor and declined to confirm her as Chief Judge of Kebbi State.

“Subsequently, and on three other occasions, the governor wrote and sought her confirmation. On all the occasions, the House maintained its refusal to confirm Justice Asabe Karatu as the Chief Judge of Kebbi State on account of the alterations and inconsistencies with the last of such rejection made by the House on May 15, 2019.”

The statement added: “For the record, under our Constitution, it is the House of Assembly and not the governor that has the power to confirm a chief judge.

“At no time did the House, at plenary or an Executive session, confirm the appointment of Justice Karatu as claimed in the social media story. The purported letter mentioned in the story said to be from the House of Assembly addressed to the governor was never written by the Kebbi State House of Assembly.

“The Kebbi State House of Assembly condemns the story in its entirety and there is no truth to allegation of religion as an issue in Kebbi State.”

 

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God will expose you – Fani-Kayode reveals how Gov. Bagudu stopped confirmation of ‘Christian’ Chief Judge

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God will expose you – Fani-Kayode reveals how Gov. Bagudu stopped confirmation of ‘Christian’ Chief Judge

Femi Fani-Kayode, former Minister of Aviation has revealed the reason behind non-confirmation of acting Chief Judge, Justice Esther Kataru, as the substantive Chief Judge of Kebbi State by Governor Atiku Bagudu.

We had reported that the Kebbi Acting Chief Judge petitioned the National Judicial Commission, NJC, over Bagudu’s alleged refusal to confirm her as chief judge.

But, reacting Gov. Bagudu while swearing in Justice Suleiman Ambursa as Acting Chief Judge of the state said that Kataru’s appointment was not confirmed due to alleged alteration of her date of birth and primary school certificate.

However, Fani-Kayode in a series of posts on his Twitter page on Sunday accused Gov. Bagudu of being behind the news of fake primary school certificate allegation against Karatu.

Describing Bagudu as a ‘religious bigot and misogynist’, Fani-Kayode said Bagudu pressurized the Speaker of the State House of Assembly to reject Kataru after the State Judicial Council had selected her and recommended her for confirmation.

The former minister wrote: “I have just spoken to the former Acting Chief Judge of Kebbi state, Justice Asabe Karatu and I confirm that what Gov. Atiku Bagudu did to her was utterly shameful. The allegation that she has a fake primary school certificate is false and she has since proved it.

“It was a lie cooked up by the Governor who pressurized the Speaker of the State House of Assembly to reject her after the State Judicial Council had selected her and recommended her for confirmation.

“Even the State House of Assembly itself later did a U-turn and offered to confirm her but the Governor again stopped them from doing so and quickly swore someone else in.

“Karatu has been in the state civil service for 38 years. She served diligently and with integrity. She is a pride to her Zuru people and to Kebbi state generally. Yet Atiku Bagudu wants to destroy her career and ruin her life all because she is a Christian and he is hell-bent on controlling the state judiciary.

“Bagudu has not appointed one Christian as either a Commissioner or Permanent Secretary since he became Governor of Kebbi. All that and he expects us to believe that he has no problem with Christians.

“The man is a religious bigot and a misogynist who wishes to control everything and everyone around him.I have a message for him: you have used your earthly power to destroy others but the God that we serve will expose you. shame you and vindicate Asabe Kataru.

“You will not be Governor forever and you will not escape his wrath. One day He will call you to account and you will pay for the wickedness and evil persecution that you have subjected his children to.”

 

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Onnoghen: HURIWA warns Buhari govt against marginalising Christians in Executive, Legislature, Judiciary

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Onnoghen: HURIWA warns Buhari govt against marginalising Christians in Executive, Legislature, Judiciary

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has warned President Muhammadu Buhari against marginalising Christians in the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary arms of government during his second term.

It warned that the plots to undermine national unity by ensuring that only Muslims head all the branches of the central government started when the Buhari’s administration instigated the “kangaroo trial resulting in the removal of Justice Walter Onnoghen, the only Christian to have held the position of Chief justice of Nigeria in 30 years over some phantom and substantially forged allegations.”

HURIWA issued the warning in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel and the National Media Affairs Director, Miss Zainab Yusuf.

The Rights group expressed apprehension that the “exclusion of Christians from headship of any of the three constitutional arms of government at the center offends section 42 of the constitution which outlaws discrimination and also constitute a gross infringements of the constitutionally guaranteed provisions on the Federal Character Principles enshrined in the highest laws of Nigeria.

“This exclusion will mark the end of Religious harmony in Nigeria and may result in anarchy and doom unless political stakeholders take measures to stave off the building up of mutual distrusts.

“We pray Buhari and all political stakeholders to save Nigeria from slidding into a state of mass distrust because if one of the largest constituents of Nigeria being Christians are excluded from the headship of the three arms of government it may not portend well for national peace, unity, and inter religious harmony that are essential for sustenance of constitutional democracy,” HURIWA said.

HURIWA cited the relevant sections of the Nigerian Constitution that speaks against the systematic exclusion of Christians in the political schemes of leadership as is about to happen imminently.

Section 42 of the Constitution: “42. (1) A citizen of Nigeria of a particular community, ethnic group, place of origin, sex, religion or political opinion shall not, by reason only that he is such a person:-

(a) be subjected either expressly by, or in the practical application of, any law in force in Nigeria or any executive or administrative action of the government, to disabilities or restrictions to which citizens of Nigeria of other communities, ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religions or political opinions are not made subject; or

(b) be accorded either expressly by, or in the practical application of, any law in force in Nigeria or any such executive or administrative action, any privilege or advantage that is not accorded to citizens of Nigeria of other communities, ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religions or political opinions.

(2) No citizen of Nigeria shall be subjected to any disability or deprivation merely by reason of the circumstances of his birth.

(3) Nothing in subsection (1) of this section shall invalidate any law by reason only that the law imposes restrictions with respect to the appointment of any person to any office under the State or as a member of the armed forces of the Federation or member of the Nigeria Police Forces or to an office in the service of a body, corporate established directly by any law in force in Nigeria.”

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Sultan Of Sokoto Reacts To The Claim That Muslims Are Illiterates, Useless

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Sultan Of Sokoto Reacts To The Claim That Muslims Are Illiterates, Useless

Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, the Sultan of Sokoto, has spoken on the alleged claim that Muslims are illiterates and ‘useless.’

The Sultan said that Islamic education is robust and not backward as some people may claim.

Abubakar said this at the centenary celebration of Sheikh Adam Al-Ilory, held at the University of Lagos on Monday.

He said, “We cannot allow people to bring our heads down and say we are useless . We are highly educated.

“We need to take this challenge up and ask ourselves, ‘Why do people look at us Muslims as illiterates?’

“I don’t understand how someone who is very fluent in the Quran, who can recite it off-heart be called an illiterate because he doesn’t speak English.

“Islamic education is perpetually an entity of self -discipline , which involves physical and spiritual training of man.

“It is the balanced growth of man through training of intellect.

“The bulk of Islamic education is meant to facilitate the proper growth of the total personality of man. It is a way of life.

“When we are talking about Islamic education, don’t think we are being backward because it is the making of a total human being and when you become one , you would shun corruption and avoid illegal dealings.”

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