Rise to Supreme Court:
Denton-West, Mary Odili,
Who Replaces Justice Tobi?
A fierce battle over who should go to the Supreme Court from the Appeal Court from the Rivers State is silently on.
The battle is between Justice Denton-West who engaged in keen contest with former Governor Odili over the preservation of her right of ownership to her house along William Jumbo Street, Port Harcourt and the wife of the former Governor, Justice Mary Odili.
From the run of events, one of the Justices of the Supreme Court from the South South would be retiring this year.
This would obviously create room for Justices at the Appeal Court with the right credentials and experience to aspire to the highest court in the land.
Justice Mary Odili is believed to have a lot of support. One of such pillars of support is the President of the Court of Appeal.
Incidentally, he too would be retiring from the bench from what the Telegraph has gathered in Abuja. But close associates of the Odili's reckon that the President of the Court of Appeal may likely ignore seniority when the time comes and probably enter recommendations in favour of Justice Mary Odili.
Opponents of Justice Odili within the Judiciary say she should never have been posted to the Abuja Court of Appeal in the first place. They claim that in line with practice, she would have had a taste of other courts of Appeal in the land before arriving in Abuja.
Besides, since arriving Abuja as a Justice of the Court of Appeal, she has also never been transferred like other Justices of the Court of Appeal across the country.
This fuels the suspicion, in the view of those who think Justice Mary Odili might be a “sacred cow”, that there may be a grand design to ensure that she replaces Justice Niki Tobi when he eventually retires from the Supreme Court.
In the meantime, Mary Odili's greatest challenge for the Supreme Court job appears to be Justice Denton-West.
Justice Denton-West is the older on the bench of the two women.
To get to the Supreme Court, Justice Denton-West may have to overcome the series of obstacles that may be placed on her way by those who may be out to ensure she never gets anywhere near the corridor of the highest court in the land.
Our usually reliable sources suggest that some lawyers might be used to impugn her integrity by filing petitions that would suggest she is not worthy in character, knowledge and experience to occupy a seat as one of the Justices of the Supreme Court.
In the meantime, all is apparently quiet, but the Telegraph which has been keeping an eye on this developing story has reliable information that matters are likely to get to a head in the weeks to come.
