Why Kebbi Assembly Rejected Justice Asabe Karatu’s Confirmation- Speaker

KEBBI State House of Assembly Speaker Abdulmumin Ismaila Kamba
said yesterday that the state’s lawmakers rejected the request for
the confirmation of the Acting Chief Judge, Justice Asabe Karatu,
because of alleged alterations in her primary school leaving
certificate.

He said her date of birth was also altered on the same
certificate from May 1952 to May 1954.

But he said the Chief Judge absolved herself of blame and
attributed the alterations to her headmaster.

The Speaker said the non-confirmation of the Acting Chief Judge
has nothing to do with religion.

He clarified that Kebbi is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious
state.

Kamba, who made the clarifications in a statement, said the
immediate past Chief Judge is a Christian.

He said despite the position of the Assembly, Governor Abubakar
Bagudu, who is a Muslim, has presented the Acting Chief Judge for
confirmation three times.

The 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.”