IMO STATE JUDICIARY 2023/2024 LEGAL YEAR SPEECH
THEME: STABLIZING THE WHEELS OF JUSTICE
DELIVERY IN CONTEMPORARY NIGERIA
INTRODUCTION:
I most heartily welcome everybody to this
occasion marking the commencement of the 2023/2024 legal year of the Imo State
Judiciary.
This ceremony is coming behind schedule as a
result of a series of hiccups in the just concluded year.
We cannot thank the Almighty God enough for
keeping us to see yet another legal year today and granting us journey mercies
from our respective enclaves to this gathering.
We have just worshipped and thanked Him for
all these at the Maria Assumpta Cathedral Owerri and submitted ourselves to Him
for continued guidance and protection as we prepare to embark on another year
of striving to do His biddings to His people.
We faithfully believe that His grace will continue to sustain and cover
us in this task.
THEME:
The theme of this legal year ceremonies: Stabilizing the Wheels of Justice Delivery
in contemporary Nigeria, is uniquely apt.
The present state of the nation has left individuals
and institutions in different states of malfunction. The judiciary, considered
the last hope of the society (not only common man) is expected and must remain
unfaltering in its role of preserving the supremacy of the rule of law if the
society must continue to exit.
There is no denying the fact that the
judiciary is presently passing through severe storm in our contemporary society
as a result of the various challenges it has had to sail through, particularly
in the last few years – challenges that appeared to shake its very
foundations.
Stability is the state of being relatively
unchanging, firmly fixed and established and not easily moved, altered or
destroyed. It is the strength or ability to stand or endure; the property of a
body that enables it when disturbed from a condition of equilibrium or steady
motion or function, to develop forces or features that restore the original
condition.
In this tempest that we are passing through
our whole task is to ensure that the judiciary, considered to be the life boat
of the society in a sinking ship remains stable and does not falter or dive
like other institutions, for that will herald the extinction of the society and
humanity.
All hands must be on deck to steer the
judiciary away from this precipice.
ON
THE SADDLE
Maintenance
and Consolidation
Within the last legal year, the Judiciary
has, within its lean resources and numerous challenges, maintained resounding
stability in physical and administrative infrastructures that were put in place
before and during the last legal year to ensure that, as our people wisely say
“Onye ebughi ebu, oha ka o ha”.
We have managed the shortage of courts,
particularly in our out stations, caused by loss due to the insecurity that
ravaged our state in the past two or more years. These courts are yet to be rebuilt. We faithfully hope that the circumstances
that brought about the burning and vandalization of those courts will not
persist.
We have remained focused in giving adequate
and prompt attention to the various aspects of the fragile structures in the
Justice Oputa High Court Complex which presents diverse maintenance problems
almost on a daily basis. And we are still infrastructurally handicapped as many
Judges are still sharing court rooms.
For the effective justice delivery which is one of the laudable visions
of our people-oriented Governor, this is a very distressing situation. I have no doubt that His Excellency will in
no time build a monumental edifice in this place that will be named as memorial
of his cherished love for the Judiciary.
Fortunately, this complex has abundant space for any such type and
magnitude of structure.
The old court complex at Orlu Road, now
Justice Nsofor Court Complex, has also undergone remarkable reconstruction and
renovation both by my predecessor and myself.
The Magistrates Courts and their offices are now accommodated and the
problem of sharing courts by Magistrates has been tackled. Presently all Magistrates sitting in Owerri
have their individual courts.Renovation work on the Bailiffs section affected
by accidental fire last year is ongoing, as with that of the Chief Magistrates
Court Aboh Mbaise that suffered dilapidation/vandalization.
ICT
Revolution:
The current security situation in the
country and our state has created the need for us to develop virtual and other
aspects of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for the purpose of
maintaining and stabilizing service delivery in the Justice delivery sector.
Here is a list, not exhaustive anyway, of
services developed by our ICT department not only to combat the contemporary
social and environmental challenges but to offer improved services to our
people.
- e.documents,
presently fully operational with many documents already uploaded;
- e.affidavit,
fully operational, with many affidavits uploaded;
- e.court,
fully operational, with over 12 virtual
sittings. This virtual innovation has
been leveraged on by myself and many judges during the COVID 19 era and other
situations of restricted movement.
- Digital
archiving, operational with nearly 3 million pages of 3,816 court Record books
scanned and archived;
- The Small
Claims Court, operational with more than 3 judgements already uploaded;
- Hand books
and Practice Direction on various areas of Administration of Justice uploaded:-
- Practice direction
to enhance public prosecutions in the State in a bid to meet with the laudable
provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law No.1 of 2020 of Imo State
– May 2022;
- Practice
Direction on Judgment Orders which addressed problems being encountered by
parties in executing judgments delivered by retired/deceased judges - June
2022;
- Practice
Direction on enhancement and effective administration of justice delivery in
the Magisterial Districts of Owerri and Mbaitoli to meet the demand of
effective and quick dispensation of justice within the Magisterial districts of
Owerri West and Mbaitoli Local Government Areas - October 2022;
- Practice
Direction on enhancement, effective and timely dispensation of criminal matters
on day to day basis particularly those involving inmates on remand - March
2023;
- Practice
Direction on the Administration of Criminal Justice to ensure efficiency and
speedy management of criminal trials and dispensation of justice to protect the
interests and fundamental human rights of the defendants, victims, witnesses
and the society and provide directives which shall be complied with to enhance
proceedings and prevent unnecessary delays – December 2023.
The
Small Claims Court was inaugurated on 18/12/2023 with its
practice Directives uploaded. Lawyers
and litigants are enjoined to take advantage of this fast-track court structure
for speedy realization of their justice aspirations.
Within the last legal year,the monetary jurisdiction of the Magistrates
(in civil cases) was also enhanced to decongest the High Court as well as
to meet the time needs of litigants. The
Chief Magistrates Grade I now entertains civil claims to the value of
N15million, Chief Mag. II, N10million; Snr. Mags. II and I, N6million and
N7million respectively. Presently we do
not have Mags II and I who entertain up to N2million and N3million
respectively. With this, a lot has been
relieved our high courts of matters of this category.
The Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL)
requires that legally qualified personnel prosecute certain category of cases
in the Magistrates courts.
Unfortunately, the police that provides those prosecutors is already
battling with shortage of manpower and the states are handicapped because it is
the Federal Government that recruits into the force. We hope to get around this problem if the
state will employ more lawyers in the State Ministry of Justice as State
Counsel to fill the gap. When this is
achieved the Magistrates, with the enabling environment offered by me and my predecessors
so far, there will be no further obstacles on the path of efficiency and
improved productivity.
New judicial divisions of the high court
Within the last legal year, a number of
courts were built and commissioned in Imo State.
- A New
Judicial Division of the High Court of Imo State was built and commissioned in
Uratta in the Owerri North L.G.A.
- The Executive
Governor of Imo State His Excellency
Distinguished Senator Hope Odidika Uzodimma had built and commissioned a
befitting ultra-modern court complex comprising the High Court, Magistrate
courts and Customary Court in Omuma Oru East Local Government Area.
Before then, court complexes, had been built
and commissioned in Umuokanne Judicial Division in Ohaji L.G.A; Ngor Okpala
Judicial Division, and the Ideato Judicial Division.
Senior Advocates of Nigeria
Within the last legal year Imo State added one
vibrant practitioner to its squad of Silks in the person of Barrister Ngozi
Olehi who was inducted into the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (BOSAN) inNovember
2023.
May I on behalf of the legal profession in
Imo State extend our congratulations to him as we pray for him for God’s
guidance.
We also had one of our own Hon. Justice
Nwosu-Iheme elevated to the Supreme Court of Nigeria as a Supreme Court
Justice. May I on behalf of the Judiciary and the good people of Imo State
convey our congratulations to him.
APPOINTMENT
OF JUDGES
The list is with the National Judicial
Commission (NJC), awaiting directives.
CHANLLENGES
Insecurity: Before now it has almost
been a ritual to list financial and related matters as challenges facing an
organization such as the Judiciary that
depends whollyon the state for its financial well-being. But in recent times, a new, deadly form of
challenge has arisen: insecurity. It has
become the foremost problem facing the judiciary as with other facets of our
life, particularly in the past few years.
May it be that it has got to its peak, to begin to wane, judging from
the strange dimension it had assumed in the last year.
This has resulted in the loss of personnel,
infrastructure and man-hours. Within the
last two years alone the Judiciary had lost more than a dozen courts. In 2022 the following courts were burnt down
by unknown arsonists: High court Etiti;
High Court Atta Nwanbiri; Magistrates Court Okpala; Customary Court Umuneke and
Customary Court Ihioma. And in 2023,
High Court Orlu and High Court Oguta followed, as well as the Magistrates Court
Ubulu.
These courts are yet to be rebuilt while
most of the High Courts in the outstations have had to relocate to the already
congested headquarters.
Most chilling is the murder of members of
the legal profession. The most recent was
the murder, right in the court while sitting, of the Chairman of the Customary
Court Obudi Agwa Barrister Nnaemeka Ugboma, just as we were passing through the
shock of the murder of a former NBA Chairman N. H. Nwankwo Esq and the
Publicity Secretary of the NBA Orlu Branch Barr. C.D. Omekagu in the previous
year 2022. And just a few weeks ago, on
or about 12 February 2024, one of our legal practitioners Barr. Victor
Onwubiko, was ambushed and killed by gunmen along Okigwe Road, on his way to
his home in Uturu in Abia State. Enough cannot be said on this issue of
insecurity but it has become sufficiently clear that security is local and
ultimately personal. It is true that
safety is of the Lord, but much diligence and vigilance is required of each and
every one of us in order to combat this menace.
SUBSIDY
REMOVAL FALL OUTS
It was almost perfunctory to complain of the
epileptic power supply by the public power company popularly known as NEPA, and
the attendant huge cost of ensuring a stable power supply for an ever busy
establishment like the Judiciary. It was
while we were contending with this age-old challenge that the subsidy on fuel
was abruptly removed in May 2023. Prices of everything skyrocketed and
continues to soar to the heavens. As it is now, it is difficult to describe the
present inflationary trend with the words that we used to know. For a
financially dependent establishment like the judiciary, a non-profit service
provider, our predicament can best be imagined.
REVENUE
The
judiciary is a non- profit establishment, and to be otherwise will spell
anarchy for the society. Yet in our own little measure, the Judiciary
comprising the High Court, the Magistrate Court, the Customary Court of Appeal
and the Customary Court has within the period October 2022 and September 2023
generated a total sum of 139,701,182.03
(One hundred and thirty-nine million, seven hundred and one thousand, one
hundred and eighty-two naira, three kobo).
Out
of this, The Customary Courts and the Customary Court of Appeal generated 18,323,334.00(Eighteen Million, three
hundred and twenty-three thousand, three hundred and thirty-four naira),
while the Magistrates Courts and the High Courts generated 121,377,848.03 (One hundred and twenty-one million, three hundred and
seventy-seven thousand, eight hundred and forty-eight-naira, three kobo).
CASE FLOW STATISTICS.
Below
is the case flow data for the Legal Year October, 2022 – September, 2023.
STATISTICS OF CASES IN THE HIGH
COURT OF IMO STATE
BETWEEN OCTOBER 2022 AND SEPTEMBER 2023
|
S/No |
TYPES OF CASES |
NO OF CASES PENDING AT THE END AND
OCTOBER 2022 – SEPT 2023 |
NO OF CASES REGISTERED BETWEEN 1ST
OCTOBER 2022 AND SEPTEMBER 2023 |
TOTAL 1 & 2 |
NO OF CASE DISPOSED BETWEEN 1ST
OCTOBER 2022 AND SEPTEMBER 2020 |
NO OF CASES PENDING AT THE END OF
SEPTEMBER 2023 |
|
1. |
CIVIL |
108,928 |
6,500 |
115,428 |
301 |
115,127 |
|
2. |
CRIMINAL |
79,766 |
4,800 |
84,566 |
65 |
84,501 |
|
3. |
MISCELLEANOUS |
70,543 |
6,800 |
77,343 |
700 |
76,643 |
|
4. |
GRAND
TOTAL |
259,237 |
18,100 |
277,337 |
1,966 |
276,271 |
STATISTICES OF CASES IN THEMAGISTRATES
COURTS OF IMO STATE
BETWEEN OCTOBER 2022 AND SEPTEMBER 2023
|
S/No |
TYPES OF CASES |
NO OF CASES PENDING AT THE END AND
OCTOBER 2022 – SEPT 2023 |
NO OF CASES REGISTERED BETWEEN 1ST
OCTOBER 2022 AND SEPTEMBER 2023 |
TOTAL 1 & 2 |
NO OF CASE DISPOSED BETWEEN 1ST
OCTOBER 2022 AND SEPTEMBER 2020 |
NO OF CASES PENDING AT THE END OF
SEPTEMBER 2023 |
|
1. |
CIVIL |
67,962 |
3,230 |
71,192 |
68 |
