A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, yesterday August 20th dismissed the suit filed by former governor of the state, Chibuike Amaechi, challenging the judicial commission of enquiry set up by the incumbent governor, Nyesom Wike to probe the sale of state assets during Amaechi’s administration.At the hearing of the suit filed by Amaechi, the presiding judge, Justice Simeon Amadi, stated that contrary to Amaechi’s assumption, the Commission of Enquiry was not established to investigate his personal activities while in government but was set up to investigate activities of his government as it affected the people of the state and that there was no law against a state government probing how her resources was used by a previous administration.
The presiding judge also stated that Amaechi’s claim that the 30 days set aside for the sitting of the judicial commission of Enquiry would deny him fair hearing was only speculative as the days for the commission of enquiry could be extended if need be. The judge said Amaechi could not make such assumptions of been denied fair hearing when he had neither filed a memorandum before the commission nor appeared before it.
He concluded by saying “The judiciary is not only the last hope of the common man, but it is also the last hope of the mighty and movers and shakers of democracy. Those, who by the benevolence of the judiciary got to power, should resist the temptation to emasculate the judiciary.”
