A former Chief Judge of Bayelsa State, Justice Kate Abiri, is dead.
The Network gathered that the retired judge died at 4 AM on Thursday, August 3.
A family source said that she had difficulty in breathing and was rushed to the Glory Land hospital, Yenagoa, for urgent medical attention.
Sadly, the Justice who recorded a sterling career in the judiciary passed on.
Abiri who retired as Chief Judge of Bayelsa State on January 13, 2023 was aged 65.
She was last seen in a church programme where she did a dedication for a grandson.
Abiri was Chief Judge of Bayelsa State from 2008 to 2023 and holds the record of the longest serving Chief Judge in the State.
Abiri hails from Aleibiri in Ekeremor Local Government Area.
The Chief Registrar of the High Court, Mr Amaebi I. Orukari, who announced her death in a statement said that she would be missed for her contributions in diverse areas to the development of the judiciary and the legal profession.
“With deep sense of loss, the Honourable Chief Judge of Bayelsa State, Hon. Justice Matilda Abrakasa Ayemieye, on behalf of the management and Staff of the Bayelsa State Judiciary announce the demise of Hon. Justice Kate Abiri, CON, whose sad event occurred on the 3rd of August, 2023.
“In a statement signed by Amaebi I. Orukari, Esq. the Chief Registrar of High Court, said 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 Bayelsa State Judiciary will miss her pioneering effort in information technology, infrastructural development, contribution to the legal community and the Bayelsa State in general.
The burial arrangements will be announced in due course after consultation with the family.”