The immediate-past Chief Judge of Bayelsa State, Justice Kate Abiri (retd.), is dead.
She died on Thursday morning.
Bibobra Kitchen, the Yenagoa branch chairman of the Aleibiri Federated Community, revealed her death in a brief statement made on Thursday.
The statement did not reveal the cause of her death, but it did declare four days of mourning among her community members in the state’s Ekeremor Local Government Area.
“She died this morning 3rd Thursday August, 2023. As usual, the 4 days mourning/gathering commences today being Thursday 3rd @ her compound”, it said.
Abiri retired from the Bayelsa State Civil Service on January 13 after serving as chief judge for 15 years.
During her 15-year term as chief judge, the departed legal icon swore in three governors in Bayelsa and one in Rivers states.
The late Bayelsa CJ’s retirement was celebrated with week-long activities that started with a special parade and valedictory court session held in her honour.
The events culminated in a state banquet where three books were unveiled in her honour including her biography titled, “Kate Abiri: Footprints on the Bench”; “Judges and Judging in Nigeria”; and “Bayelsa State Law Reports: Volume One.”
The state government had yet to make a statement on Justice Abiri’s passing as of the time of filing this report.