Ben Ayade, governor of Cross River State, has ordered the sack of 30 magistrates who protested against the non-payment of their 24-month salaries.
In a letter signed on behalf of the acting chief judge of the state, Eyo Effiom Ita, by Chief Registrar Edem N. Okokon, it was stated that since the state was unable to pay them since their engagement in February 2019, they would no longer preside over any sitting.
The acting chief judge, whose tenures expires next week, also asked the 30 magistrates to stay at home, alleging that many of them had been involved in corrupt practices to survive.
The magistrates had last week protested in front of the old governor’s office for three days.
It was stated that the state government had advertised for the positions of magistrates, after which they were engaged and reportedly sent for training at the government’s expense.
However, the governor was quoted to have denied knowledge of their engagement and allegedly refused to ratify it.
Paul Ebiala, chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Calabar, said the over 1,000 judgements delivered by the magistrates would become null and void since they were not properly engaged.
