Retiring Niger Chief Judge, Mayaki moves to appoint daughter ahead of senior Judicial officers amid protests

Confusion and uncertainty has enveloped the Niger State Judiciary over the plan to appoint more new Magistrates by the Chief Judge of Niger State, Justice Mohammed Aliyu Mayaki.

The Chief Judge who is billed to exit service of the State Judiciary on the 25th of October, 2020 has concluded desperate plans to employ more new Magistrates in the service of the Judiciary even as existing Magistrates are without courts to man.

Already, a total of 81 Magistrates are on the payroll of the service of the Niger State Judiciary with some of them without court to man.

In some cases, two Magistrates share one court through shifting among themselves, thereby resulting to slow dispensation of Justice for litigants and counsels.

Already, the Chief Judge has submitted the list of the Magistrates to be appointed to governor Abubakar Sani Bello for his approval and consideration for their appointment.

CAPITAL POST findings revealed that those shortlisted for the post of Magistrates by Justice Mohammed Aliyu Mayaki are the Legal Assistants (LA) to some High Court Judges in the Niger State Judiciary.

The confusion is already, pervading in the deliberate act of Justice Mohammed Aliyu Mayaki, over the appointment of his biological daughter Aisha Mohammed Aliyu Mayaki to the position of Assistant Secretary of Niger State Judicial Service Commission (JSC).

It was gathered that Aisha Mayaki who was on level 12 in the Niger State Ministry of Justice as a principal State counsel now on level 17 a position of Permanent Secrectary in the State Civil Service even as protest trailed her appointment and her elevation to the present level as Assistant Secretary JSC from her former office in the State Ministry of Justice.

Equally, findings further revealed that previous Chief Judges in the State appointed the most senior Chief Magistrate in the service of the State Judiciary as the Secretary of the State Judicial Service Commission, but “with all indications, the Chief Judge who has just less than one month from now to go is planing to appoint his daughter, Aisha as the substantial Secretary of JSC which was never done before now” CAPITAL POST was told.

It was gathered that some sitting Chief Magistrates and some private Legal practitioners have applied for the Secretary of the JSC for the past nine months, but were not invited for interview by the Chief Judge who is the Chairman of the JSC just as Aisha has been acting and performing the duty of Secretary of JSC, a position equivalent to the rank of Permanent Secretary in the Niger State civil Service.

This singular act of the Chief Judge who is almost out of the service is an example of nepotism as he sits on the same table to decide the fate of Judiciary staff of Niger state.

Worried by the act of nepotism displayed by the Chief Judge over the appointment of his daughter, the former Permanent Secretary in the office of head of Service Niger State, Alhaji Shuaibu B. Adamu wrote to the office of the Solicitor General and Permanent Secretary in the State Ministry of Justice Adamu Panti, bringing to his notice a circular dated 25th of January, 2016, informing him of suspending all forms of employment in the State Civil Service pending the lift of embango on appointment of Civil Servants of any cadres in the State.

The circular, with the caption “Re: Application for inter-service Transfer in Respect of Aisha Mohammed Mayaki” stated that, I write to you with regret that, inview of the current circular E/047/TV11/ CIR.05 suspending all forms of employment in the Civil Service of Niger State to which this case is one of such, the request cannot be entertained, untill there is a change of policy from Government”.

“For avoidance of doubt, you may wish to rehash the content of the said circular herewith attached for ease of reference. You will, therefore, request the officer to remain in her duty post in your ministry” yet the chief Judge ignored the letter as written to convey the existence of the circular to him.

The CAPITAL POST reliably gathered that, the Chief Judge daughter never even applied for the position just like Chief Magistrates that have applied for vacant position of the Secretaryship of the JSC nine months after and yet the applicants were not invited for interview.

Already, there is a strong move by the Chief judge to appoint his daughter as the substantive secretary of the JSC against the already existing procedures of appointing sitting Chief Magistrates to the office of the Secretary of JSC.

Efforts by this reporter to speak to the Chief Judge on the matter has not yielded the needed result as several calls to his phones could not be reached.

However, a source close to his office, who craved anonymity told this reporter “that you know that he was bereaved. He lost his first wife early last week. And you know he will not come to the office for now.”