By Tina George, Minna
The Niger Christian Youth Forum, has lamented alleged lopsided appointments of 16 magistrates by the state judicial Commission.
A press statement signed by the spokesperson, Joshua Ndace and made available to newsmen in Minna on Saturday said the appointments failed to promote fairness and inclusiveness.
According to the Forum, out of the 16 magistrates appointed, only one is a Christian, which it said was not reflective and representative of the cordial religious diversity of the state.
“The process of appointing magistrates in itself was laudable giving the human capacity gap in our judiciary. What however, we found very disturbing was the insensitivity of that particular process to the religious diversity of our dear state.
“Out of the initial 13 magistrates that were appointed, Christians were not found on the list. A Christian, however, managed to make the list of the last three magistrates, which was added as an afterthought.
“If any critical institution of government is to promote fairness and inclusiveness, it should be the judiciary, it is for this reason we feel even more bewildered and disappointed.
“We strongly believe that no Nigerlite should be denied a position for which he/she is eminently qualified, for any reason whatsoever”, the statement reads.
The group called on the Chief Judge of Niger state, Justice Aisha Bwari to address the imbalance in other to make the process complete.
