IMMEDIATE PAST BAYELSA CHIEF JUDGE, ABIRI DIES AT 65

Justice Abiri’s death was confirmed on Thursday in Yenagoa in a statement issued by the Chief Registrar at the State Judiciary Headquarters, High Court, Amaebi Orukari, who said that the former chief judge died on Thursday after a brief illness.

The immediate past chief judge of Bayelsa State, Justice Kate Abiri, has been confirmed dead at the age of 65.

Justice Abiri’s death was confirmed on Thursday in Yenagoa in a statement issued by the Chief Registrar at the State Judiciary Headquarters, High Court, Amaebi Orukari, who said that the former chief judge died on Thursday after a brief illness.

“With a deep sense of loss, the Honourable Chief Judge of Bayelsa State, Hon. Justice Matilda Abrakasa Ayemieye, announces the demise of Hon. Justice Kate Abiri, CON, whose sad event occurred on the 3rd of August, 2023.

“The Hon. Justice Kate Abiri passed on after a brief illness at the Glory Land Hospital, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

“Until her death, she was the immediate past Chief Judge of Bayelsa State,” the statement read, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Orukari however said that the burial arrangements of the former chief judge will be announced after consultation with the family.

According to Orukari, the state judiciary would miss the late chief judge’s pioneering efforts in information technology, infrastructural development, contribution to the legal community and the state in general.

Abiri retired from the state judiciary on January 13, 2023 after serving as chief judge for 15 years and reaching the mandatory retirement age of 65.

She was appointed chief judge by former Governor Timipre Sylva in 2008 after a battle led by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Yenagoa branch.

NBA had demanded for Mrs Abiri’s appointment, following the recommendation by the National Judicial Commission (NJC).