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Abia records low
dispensation of cases
From
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The
2007/2008 legal year in Abia state witnessed a low dispensation of
cases with 11, 530 cases disposed of out of 30,609 recorded by the
judiciary.
Chief Judge, Justice Sunday Imo, gave this indication in Umuahia at
the opening of the 2008/2009 legal year.
A breakdown of the figures showed that out of the 7,374 cases
registered in the high courts, only 1,238 cases were disposed of.
Of the 11,220 cases registered in the Magistrate’s Courts, only
3,354 cases were concluded.
In the Customary Court of Appeal, 1,145 cases were registered with
70 disposed of while the Customary Courts had 14,870 cases
registered out of which only 6,868 were concluded.
Imo also said N44.9million was generated as revenue by the judiciary
during the legal year under review
The breakdown reveals that the High Courts generated N43.08 million
while the Customary Court of Appeal generated N1.9 million.
Imo said that 11 inmates were discharged from Umuahia and Aba
prisons during jail delivery.
“It is during this ceremony that we assess our performance and look
forward to a better and enhanced package for our judicial officers
and support staff,’’ he said.
The Chief Judge called for improved funding of the judiciary as well
as provision of computers for judicial workers.
The state judiciary,he said, would establish Multi-Court
/Alternative Dispute Resolution as another mechanism to settle
disputes.
He said:”Not every case should be settled by the conventional way of
pleadings and full stretched hearing.”
In an address, the Chairman, Ohafia Branch NBA, Mr Anaga Kalu said
the judiciary in Abia was in an appalling state.
He said:”We want to use this opportunity of the presence of persons
from the executive arm of government to make a case for an effective
and functional judiciary in the state.
“Our judges and magistrates deserve better deals in terms of their
working implements and environment.
‘’ Let us stop pretending about the situation because one day, we
may wake up to discover that we will not have halls to do our
business of legal practice.”
The Chairman, Aba NBA,Mr Chinda Elele noted that the problem of the
judiciary and administration of justice was compounded by the
insecurity in the state.
Lawyers and magistrates, he said, were kidnapped daily with huge
ransom extorted from them.
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