I received with shock, the news of the passing of Hon. Justice Kate Abiri (Rtd), CON, the immediate past Chief Judge of Bayelsa State whose sad incident occurred on the 3rd of August 2023 at the age of 65 years.
In her lifetime, she lived a life of service having risen from the Magistracy in the old Rivers State to being a Judge of the High Court of Bayelsa State in 1997. I was present at the swearing-in ceremony as the pioneer Publicity Secretary of the newly established Nigeria Bar Association Yenagoa chapter where she was sworn in with my late cousin Hon. Justice Taremowei Koroye and we all celebrated their well deserved elevation to the bench with full expectation.
I also knew her late father Chief M. Y. Waritimi, one of the early Ijaw Senior Police Officers who after his retirement committed himself fully to the service of the Ijaw nation as the National Treasurer of the Ijaw National Congress (INC) and played very vital roles, culminating in the creation of Bayelsa State.
In 2008 Hon. Justice Abiri was appointed the Honourable Chief Judge of Bayelsa State and subsequently, member of the National Judicial Council (NJC) where she served in several capacities to the admiration of all and to the pride of our state.
I saw how Hon. Justice Abiri and her colleagues gave support to the first Chief Judge of Bayelsa State, late Hon. Justice K. D. Ugbuku and late Hon. Justice E. J. Igoniwari, who succeeded him.
As Honourable Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, I interacted with Hon. Justice Abiri and her colleagues on issues of welfare which I processed and forwarded to my boss and Governor of Bayelsa State at the time, His Excellency, Dr Goodluck Jonathan who always gave express approval to requests from the Judiciary.
It is common knowledge that Hon. Justice Abiri worked closely and collaborated with my predecessor, the former governor of Bayelsa State, His Excellency, Chief Timipre Sylva as evidenced by her involvement in the building of the Nigeria Law School campus in Yenagoa, funded by the Government of Bayelsa State.
Throughout my 8 year tenure as governor of Bayelsa State, Hon. Justice Abiri offered excellent and exemplary service as Honourable Chief Judge of the state. We collaborated on several initiatives that showcased the Bayelsa State Judiciary.
We worked on the Bayelsa State Judiciary (Financial Autonomy) Law, initiated and completed the Multidoor Court Complex to serve as an arbitration centre for our people, digitalized the court proceedings, constructed the Judges Quarters in Yenagoa, employed Research Assistants to Judges in the state, redesigned and renovated the various court complexes in the state as well as the construction of a mega Magistrate Court with several rooms, etc. All these were done in collaboration with Hon. Justice Kate Abiri as Chief Judge.
She appreciated my support for the Judiciary generally and my Government’s non-interference in the discharge of the duties of Judicial and Law-Enforcement officials. On my part, I valued her quiet and wise counsel on issues that were non-judicial as I considered her in her own right, a senior citizen of the state.
Following the political turbulence in the count down to the 2015 general elections and the subsequent shutdown of the Judiciary in Rivers State, it was Hon. Justice Abiri’s patriotism and sense of duty that saved the day as she performed an extra-territorial judicial duty by swearing in the winner of that governorship election in the absence of a state Chief Judge in order to avoid a constitutional crisis.
Hon. Justice Kate Abiri was gentle, soft spoken, hardworking and a devout Christian. Indeed, Bayelsa State, the Ijaw nation and the country at large has lost a rare gem.
On behalf of my family, I join her several admirers and well-wishers across the nation to express my heartfelt condolences to her husband Mr. Patrick Amaye Abiri, her children, the Abiri family and the Waritimi family of Tamugbene community and Aleibiri community respectively, Ekeremor LGA and the entire Bayelsa State.
I pray God Almighty grant her gentle christian soul eternal repose and the family and loved ones the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss.
HSD