From Tony John, Port Harcourt
A chief magistrate in the Rivers State Judiciary, Ejike King George, has announced his voluntary retirement from service because of the existing emergency rule in the state.
The chief magistrate, in a letter to the Chief Judge through the Secretary, Rivers State Judicial Service Commission dated April 11, 2025, and titled, ‘Voluntary Retirement From Service,’ said he took a difficult and regrettable decision.
George said he was not comfortable with the recent appointment of a quasi-military administration in Rivers State.
He wrote: “This present is intended to convey my decision to voluntarily retire my appointment as Magistrate of the Judiciary of Rivers State.
“This difficult and regrettable decision is informed largely by my discomfort with the recent appointment of a quasi-military administration to run the affairs of a modern state like ours.
“My lord will agree with me that this type of governance system is not only alien, but also runs antithetical to our hallowed profession as legal practitioners and adjudicators.
“Having put in a whooping 16 out of my 22 years of legal practice into the judiciary as magistrate under successive democratic administrations, I find it difficult to work with the current setting, as doing so would amount to a tacit and naive acquiescence. Thanks my lord, for the opportunity to serve.”